Togo footballers attacked in Angola
       ****

Gunmen have opened fire on a bus carrying Togo's national football squad to
the top tournament in Angola, killing the driver and wounding at least two
players, officials have said.

Thomas Dossevi, a Togo striker, told radio station RMC that the team was
"shot at like dogs" by hooded assailants who were "armed to the teeth",
leaving several players in a bad state.

"We had just crossed the border ... everything was fine. Then there was a
powerful burst of gunfire.

"Everyone dived under the seats and the police fired back. It felt like war
had broken out. It's shocking," he said.

Alaixys Romao, another player for the team, said he believes seven people
were hit by machine gunfire, including two players.

The attack took place on Friday in the enclave of Cabinda, where a
separatists group has waged a three-decade long war against the government.

It comes just two days before the start of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, a
pan-continental tournament. The tournament is the continent's biggest
football event.

The Togo team had been training in Congo and was travelling to Angola by bus
ahead of their match against Ghana on Monday.

*High profile players*

Karthi Gnanasegaram, Al Jazeera's sports correspondent, reporting from
London said some high profile players, including Emmanuel Adebayor, who
plays for the English club, Manchester City, were in the Togo team.

"We have spoken to Manchester City. They have told us he is definitely safe
and he is unharmed, but he is obviously shaken by what has happened in the
last few hours," she said.

Antonio Bento Bembe, Angola's minister without porfolio who is in charge of
Cabinda affairs, condemned the attack.

"This was an act of terrorism that is being dealt with as we speak," Bento
Bembe told Reuters. Asked if there were any injuries, he replied, "I can
confirm there are injuries but I still don't have all the information".

*'Failed security'*
Keir Radnege, a leading football author and a former editor of *World Soccer
* magazine, told Al Jazeera that security arrangements in Angola had failed.

"The problem with any sports organisation is that they do rely on this
moratorium that generally sports teams don't get attacked. Now obviously,
that is something that is falling apart," he told Al Jazeera.

"The situation speaks volumes about the difficulty of trying to protect any
number of sports teams when they're travelling.

"This is one of the big worries concerning South Africa and the World Cup,"
he said, referring to the upcoming 2010 football tournament.

"This is probably the worst thing that could have happened at the start of
the South African World Cup year."
While the attack on the Togo team is certain to send shockwaves, it is not
without a precedent.
Only last year, the team bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team was
attacked in the Pakistani city of Lahore. Several players were injured in
the brazen attack.
    Source: Al Jazeera and agencies








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