Breaking: Togo Nat’l Team Attacked By Rebels, Machine Guns.

Terrible news. Seems that there were only injuries, no deaths…

Tough to know what to say. My one question is why? Why would Angolan rebels fire on the Togo national team bus?

I know absolutely nothing about the Angolan rebel situation, but I would imagine that being rebels, anything that they’d do anything that would ruin the government’s functioning and image (i.e. by producing chaos in the tournament). This way, they can’t even be accused of attacking “fellow Angolans” as the victims were Togan.

That makes sense Jose62. If that was the goal then looks like they’ve succeeded.

Jose – The driver who was killed was Angolan. Horrible thing, and I’m a little ashamed for wondering what will happen to the tournament, since I know that’s not the most important thing here.

This is tragic. Absolutely tragic. Best wishes and a speedy recovery to the team!

But what is really scary is how did the rebels know when and how the team was going to be entering the country.

Apparently there are some deaths as the driver died during the attack– http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=722453&sec=global&cc=5901

I wondered if it wasn’t tempting fate to have a large tournament in Angola. This is tragic.

According to the updated French report, defender Serge Akakpo took a bullet in the back, and second goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilalé is in “état grave.” (Not sure how that compares to our “serious” vs. “critical” conditions. Serge Gakpé of Monaco is also among the injured.

Togo is in the same group B as Ghana; Côte D’Ivoire & Burkina Faso. Oh Boy! Not a good look for World Cup 2010 South Africa Public relations since Ghana & Côte D’Ivoire are on the watch list. Check WIKI for Republic of Cabinda flare-ups.

just hope the injured players pull through. I don’t see how Togo can participate now, and it raises questions about whether there’s enough security to hold the tournament at all. though I hope it will go forward in some form.

holy shit, what horrible news.

good luck to all of them in their recoveries, or perhaps to their families if it comes to the worst.

A terrible situation. I don’t see how they can play the games in Cabinda after this.

Tragic news. Surely Togo won’t play now, and it must put doubts over the whole thing?

This is the worst possible way things could get started. I am so shocked and saddened.

Putting two and two together from multiple sources in a couple of languages, I’m thinking Kodjovi Obilalé took a bullet to the kidney(s)? And that Serge Akakpo may be the one with a superficial back wound?

All sources but the French one above are saying that only two players were hit, and nobody else mentions Serge Gakpé, so I’m thinking somebody just heard wrong. I hope.

Also, apparently there would have been many more casualties except that the rebels aimed most of their fire at the first bus, which was carrying luggage.

This is breaking my heart. ACN is my favorite tournament, after World Cup. And my brother lived in Togo for two years. This just makes me want to cry, and that’s not an exaggeration.

I feel the same way Laurie.

OH NO!!!

Some sources say that armed robbers are to blame for the attack. But I sincerely dont know.

Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola and is inside DR Congo. Surely they would not choose Cabinda as a host if the situation was terrible.

No wonder this was on the border between DR Congo and Angola because security inside the city is said to have been beefed up and whoever is responsible for this will be able to escape easily through the Congo. I want to know more about the exact location of the attack and the identity of the culprits.

This is disgraceful and embarrassing nonetheless!!

It seems some months ago some European journalists were robbed when they were in South Africa for draws. I think there is too much confusion in Africa to host a WC, bad choice for me

this once again shows what type of a country angola is and gongo. they better watch, cuz now it’s on. shooting on my people and you’ll pay the prize. first of all ban those two countries from membership of the fifa, ban this tournament and make sure this rebels get caught so i can show them who the **** they’re dealing with. i’ll personally come over there and will teach those cowards some discipline. ill make them rub my shoes and beg for mercy. motherf*ckers! mess with my people and you’re messing with a whole lot of people you don’t want to mess with. they ‘re digging their own ditch. they should keep their problems with them selves, don’t involve my county!

the question is, if the Angolan government and the tournament’s organizers know that this city has rebelion problems, why choose it to host matches? they could have chosen a more safer place.

i also knew from Kiko that the city is outside Angola, why didn’t they choose an easier place to reach?!!

i hope the tournament goes on and everybody return home safe!!

the comic thing is that the organizing comittee said in a press release that the bus’ tire blew up so the players panicked…..loool

Looks like adebayor isn’t as good of a target man as everyone thinks…

At least one source is now reporting that Serge Akakpo has died. Tragic, tragic, tragic.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017466733?African%20Nations:%20Togo%20Soccer%20Players%20Shot%20In%20Ambush;%20Romanian%20Defender%20Dead

April 24 2005 at 03:53PM

By David Lewis

Mindouli, Congo – The United Nations convoy was meant to deliver aid and attend a soccer tournament to mark reconciliation between rebels and government forces in the Republic of Congo’s troubled Pool region.

But at the first checkpoint, Pool’s top official was pulled by drunken “Ninja” rebels from his car. At the second roadblock, dope-smoking, grenade-wielding fighters looted whatever aid and valuables they could find in the UN vehicles.

“Go and tell (President Denis) Sassou Nguesso that Pool is for the rebels and he shouldn’t send his government men here, let alone in UN convoys,” barked a rebel, who went by the name of “The Laughing Cow”, as he poked grenades into the UN vehicles
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=qw1114349760435B252

Angola troops reported fighting rebels in Congo
by Michelle Faul – Nov. 8, 2008 12:00 AM
Associated Press
GOMA, Congo – Reports that Angolan troops joined Congolese soldiers battling rebels near the city of Goma raised new fears the conflict could spread in the region, but the U.N. chief holding a peace conference in nearby Nairobi denied the reports.
New clashes between the army and rebels erupted outside Goma near Kibati, where about 45,000 refugees from the rebellion in mineral-rich eastern Congo have taken refuge. Thousands fled toward the relative safety of Goma.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/11/08/20081108congo1108.html

About a dozen separatist groups, three of them armed, are demanding Independence for Cabinda, which was made part of Angola in 1956 by its former portuguese colonial rulers. After independence in 1975, Angola made the region one of its 14 provinces
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/flec.htm

As of 2009 the Angolan government claims that the war in Cabinda is over. However, sporadic attacks on government forces and expatriate workers have continued. A peace deal was signed in 2006 between Angola’s government and the rebels under Bento Bembe’s leadership, but another FLEC faction has refused to sign on. Illegal detention and torture against suspected separatists continued as of late 2009, when FLEC [Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda] claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of a Chinese worker and the killing of several Angolan soldiers. Antonio Bento Bembe, who once led FLEC, is now a minister without portfolio tasked with human rights.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/cabinda.htm

The people of Cabinda have three of the conditions that encourage rebellion: a recent history of insurgency, territorial concentration, and continuing government repression. Factors inhibiting conflict are efforts at negotiations that successfully established the Amnesty Law in August 2006 to stop the violence, transnational support for the 2006 peace agreement, and the 2002 ceasefire in the civil war that had been raging in the rest of Angola. The peace established in 2006 may continue if the government honors the promises outlined in the Amnesty Law. Although some separatists not amenable to the agreement were responsible for scattered violence after the accords were signed, the rebels had, for the most part, desisted and the fragile peace was still in place by the end of 2006. As long as the peace plan continues to move forward, the conflict will most likely not escalate into outright rebellion again.
http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=54003

I’m searching all the news sources I can find in both English and French. Nobody else is reporting Akakpo’s death, so I’m hoping it’s misinformation. Le Parisien reports that defender Richmond Forson said that neither player is at risk of death. Crossing fingers and saying prayers that he’s right.

Laurie – that seems to be the only source I can find that lists Akakpo as dead, and some more recent ones still say injured. Maybe I’m just seeing what I want to see, but let’s hope that’s just a false report.

I hope that source about him Akakpo dying is not true! Please please please don’t be true! :(

Tournament will go on according to CAF: http://www.goal.com/en/news/815/african-nations-cup/2010/01/08/1733931/breaking-news-caf-confirm-that-african-cup-of-nations-2010

I feel conflicted about that decision. I want to see the tourney but I want it to be safe! It’s already so tarnished…

ESPN Soccernets article says that Akakpo underwent successful surgery and is out of danger according to a statement from his Romanian club Vaslui. Here is the link: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=722453&sec=global&cc=5901

Apparently the tournament directors are questioning the judgement of the Togo football federation because teams were given explicit instructions to fly into Angola and not to drive.

This is just terrible. And now they’re blaming the victims for traveling by bus. Awful attempt to deflect blame.

Juliet, as much as this sucks (and it really really does), the Togolese Federation isn’t exactly a beacon of competence. They’ve made a lot of questionable decisions in the past. Not saying its entirely their fault but they share the blame, practically everyone who knows the country has asked why the heck they would even travel by bus in the first place in a territory known to have such unrest. Not saying CAF and Angola 2010 organizers don’t share blame in some way or another but they’re within their rights to point out that they had rules about travel delineated in advance…

The rebel group has released a statement saying that it has planned more attacks in the region

“In a statement, the Forces for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda (FLEC / PM) announced that “this operation was only the beginning of a series of targeted actions that will continue throughout the territory of Cabinda” [Source: L'Equipe]

Could they be bluffing? Perhaps..does anyone think its worth the risk?

you know whats crazier…7 games will be hosted in the Cabinda region…smh.

My question is: why host matches in Cabinda, a region of Angola with a long history of separatist violence, stretching into 2009, despite what the government claims? I had no problem with Angola hosting the ACN, and I hoped it was a sign of the country’s revival after a terrible civil war, but I was baffled when they said matches would be happening in Cabinda. Maybe poor judgment on the part of the Togo federation to drive, but poor choice by the tournament organizers to host matches there.

i really do expect some sanctions here.

Extremely good point there, Nick. Terrible news this. One of the Togolese players are currently attached to Norwegian Premier Division side Strømsgodset. He was unhurt by this stuff, but is naturally very shocked.

I think they should move the players and matches to Benguela or Lubango. The players must be dead scared about staying in Cabinda.

The locals who have already bought tickets will be disappointed but it is either this or the competition might be affected.

As for FLEC, I think they are trying to sabotage the competition in order to show that they “are not Angolan” so dont care about the country’s image and they chose the most watched sporting event in Africa.

The borders of Cabinda and the Congos will surely be heavily fortified and FLEC will not be able to get in. FLEC have just about managed however, to destroy Angola’s attempt to rid itself from the “war-ravaged country” tag.

Well stated Kiko but let me just add that Angola took a gamble by hosting the game in Cabinda. Sometimes taking a gamble works and sometimes it doesn’t. Here is a gamble that worked:

“A single soccer match achieves what five years of combat and negotiations could not: an apparent end to Ivory Coast’s civil war. The man who brought the warring sides together was not a politician or a gun-toting strongman, but Didier Drogba, the star striker for Ivory Coast.”
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/07/ivorycoast200707?currentPage=1

Wow. My heart goes out to everyone involved. What a terrible way to start off the ACN and a very poor advertisement for the WC this summer, but the focus now should be on mourning those who were hurt and making sure no one else gets hurt.

It’s a shame that the rebels couldn’t afford the pan-african puma kit. It would have fixed everything, like the commercial!

** NEWS ALERT** UPDATE: I just watched Al Jazeera English. The whole ACN tournament has been thrown into chaos because … the TOGO nation team has publicly announced that they are PULLING out of the championship. This announcement was made in Angola at the same time the Angolan national team was telling media that the tournament will go on. Oh boy! time to start a new forum about what will happen with group B; the championship and waves affecting WC South africa 2010 ** http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8449611.stm

Ghana team is meeting with sports ministry to decide whether to stay.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/01/09/sports/sports-uk-angola-togo-attack-stay.html

Togo has agreed to stay in the tournament.