Emmanuel Adebayor escaped unharmed after a bus carrying the Togo national team came under attack from gunfire in Angola, with six people thought to have been seriously injury.
Those injured included two footballers from the West African nation, with Togolese football federation vice-president Gabriel Ameyi having said back-up goalkeeper Obilale Kossi and central defender Serge Akakpo were among those hurt.
The Sparrow Hawks are in the country ahead of the African Cup of Nations which gets under way on Sunday, with Manchester City striker Adebayor amongst the travelling party.
Romanian side FC Vaslui confirmed their defender Akakpo, who joined the club from French side Auxerre last year, was shot and badly injured in the attack.
The club said, though, the 22-year-old was out of danger after being treated by doctors.
A statement on the club’s website read: „Badly injured in an ambush in Angola, Serge Akakpo is now out of danger.
„Akakpo was struck by two bullets in the attack and has lost much blood. His condition was stabilised by doctors.
Aston Villa have also confirmed that their 26-year-old midfielder Moustapha Salifou was „shaken but okay” following the attack.
A statement posted on City’s official website read: „Manchester City can confirm that striker Emmanuel Adebayor is uninjured after this afternoon’s attack on the Togo team bus in Angola.
Togo are scheduled to begin their cup campaign against Ghana on Monday, but their participation in the tournament now looks in serious doubt.
Togo and Nantes striker Thomas Dossevi told French radio station RMC: „I’m okay but several players are in a bad state.
„We are still at hospital. We were machine-gunned like dogs and had to remain hidden under our seats for around 20 minutes to avoid the bullets.”
Midfielder Alaixys Romao admits the players feared the worst and thinks Togo are now likely to pull out of the tournament.
„We’re not thinking yet of what could happen,” said Romao, who plays his club football for Grenoble.
„But it’s true that no-one wants to play. We’re not capable of it.
„We’re thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground.
„For the moment there is not much news because they have been taken to different hospitals.
Midfielder Richmond Forson believes the number of injuries could have been much worse had the gunmen not originally fired on the wrong bus.
„It was the bus carrying our baggage which was in front of us which they fired on the most,” he told Canal Plus. „They thought we were in the bus in front.
„Fortunately for us. That’s what saved us. Then they fired on our driver and those who were in front. The windscreen was shattered by the first bullets.
Dossevi later gave more details about the attack. He added: „We had just crossed the border five minutes before, we were surrounded by police buses, one in front of us another behind.
„Everything was fine and then there was a powerful burst of gunfire.
„Everyone threw themselves under the seats and tried to protect themselves but some couldn’t escape the bullets.
„It lasted a good 15 minutes, the police fired back but really, it was hard to handle and it still is now. I’m shocked.
„When we got off the bus we were asking ourselves why us and not others? We were asking ourselves what had happened, we were crying and thanking God.”
Angela Taylor (Manchester United fan) says…
This is an absolute disgrace. Just reading this story makes my blood boil. The people that attacked the Togo bus are animals. I just hope to God that when we host the World Cup we have our security up to scratch. This is embarrasing for the entire African continent and right now i’m not proud to be a „African”. Angola I hope you sort yourselves out.
Raba Majer (Arsenal fan) says…
Oliver Corbisiero, devastating attacks have occured in the US, england, Spain(where barcelona is) over the past decade. the victims may not have been sports persons, but they were innocent victims all the same. If you are a racist, it turns always to get the better of your judgement of events. Is spain not a developed country/ how many years hs it been under basque terror.Dont tell me it is manufactured in developing africa!
Nick Melson (Arsenal fan) says…
Sad day for football. We wont know the details for sometime and therefore if this was perpetuated by rival „fans” or political extremist. Regardless my thoughts and prayers are with the players, their families, and the people of Africa who are again on the worlds front pages due to an egregious act of violence acted out by a militant minority.
Tom Young (Hull City fan) says…
Awful news!! As much as I hate to say it, this only happens in African nations. With the World Cup coming up in South Africa then surely it needs to be re-thought for the safety of all the players, officials, supporters and everyone invovled. This is a situation FIFA needs to look at
Matthew O’kane (Arsenal fan) says…
This is terrible news and i hope that everyone on the bus has a speedy recovery. Even as an Arsenal fan i hope Adebayor is ok and that there is no long term damage to any of the players. There should be higher security especially as the world cup is not far away now and i hope there are no similar incidents in the future.
Billy Guthrie (Manchester United fan) says…
I am not a man city fan but i am shure that all true football fans will join me in saying that the players hurt and that is including adybyor if hee is among them all the best and a speedy recovery.
Oliver Corbisiero (Barcelona fan) says…
Absolutely ridiculous!! You would not get this in any developed country! Second time, on my count, that this has happened within months. Lets hope World Cup 2010 SOUTH AFRICA will be a non-hostile event!!
Ben Silver (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says…
This is very disturbing news. I hope the players aren’t too badly injured. This is very bad news for the whole African continents footballing ambitions.
Omar Hany (Liverpool fan) says…
This is terrible, I blame the CAF for giving the hosting rights of such a big tournment to an unprepaired nation like Angola, and also blame the Angolean Government for failing to provide enough security to the visiting teams, I hope everyone is ok now and no deaths have occured, this is a bad publicity for Africans with South Africa due to host the World Cup in less than just six months.
Martin Mayanja says…
shame to hear about such events, we are looking forward to a good show then this, defo dont make good reading? Why now, why Togo, and where was the security as well. I thought organisers were on the ball. Well there you alot to ponder and s.africa should take note.
Conor Quinn (Shrewsbury Town fan) says…
Absolutely savage news. Let’s hope the injured Togo player’s injuries aren’t life threatening and that the team recover to be competitive in the African Cup of Nations. One wonders at the motivation behind this, for all we know it could be Danish terrorists but let’s hope it was not motivated for footballing reasons, which would serve further to tarnish the game’s international reputation.
C Schear (Barcelona fan) says…
I hope and pray that everyone on that bus is alright and something like this doesn’t happen again. It’s a sad day for sport when something like this happens. It’s a sport and whether they were targeted or not, it’s outrageous that people would do this to other human beings. Again my prayers are with them and their families.
Firm outsiders Zambia will be looking to win their first African Nations Cup in Angola.
Tunisia will be out to finally live up to the tag of being considered one of Africa’s great powers.
Super Eagles look to add to their two African Nations Cup crowns this month in Angola.
Emmanuel Adebayor escaped unharmed after a bus carrying the Togo national team came under attack from gunfire in Angola.
Ahmed Hassan is looking for Egypt’s opening clash with Nigeria to set the tone for the tournament.
Didier Drogba insists Ivory Coast have learnt the harsh lessons from two years ago.
Samuel Eto’o has warned Cameroon to be ready for a „tricky” encounter when they take on Gabon.
Yusuf Mohamed has backed Shaibu Amodu to lead the team to a successful African Nations Cup campaign.
Read the article on Sky Sports
Togo team bus in gun attack
Emmanuel Adebayor escaped unharmed after a bus carrying the Togo national team came under attack from gunfire in Angola, with six people thought to have been seriously injury.
Those injured included two footballers from the West African nation, with Togolese football federation vice-president Gabriel Ameyi having said back-up goalkeeper Obilale Kossi and central defender Serge Akakpo were among those hurt.
The Sparrow Hawks are in the country ahead of the African Cup of Nations which gets under way on Sunday, with Manchester City striker Adebayor amongst the travelling party.
Romanian side FC Vaslui confirmed their defender Akakpo, who joined the club from French side Auxerre last year, was shot and badly injured in the attack.
The club said, though, the 22-year-old was out of danger after being treated by doctors.
A statement on the club’s website read: „Badly injured in an ambush in Angola, Serge Akakpo is now out of danger.
„Akakpo was struck by two bullets in the attack and has lost much blood. His condition was stabilised by doctors.
Aston Villa have also confirmed that their 26-year-old midfielder Moustapha Salifou was „shaken but okay” following the attack.
A statement posted on City’s official website read: „Manchester City can confirm that striker Emmanuel Adebayor is uninjured after this afternoon’s attack on the Togo team bus in Angola.
Togo are scheduled to begin their cup campaign against Ghana on Monday, but their participation in the tournament now looks in serious doubt.
Togo and Nantes striker Thomas Dossevi told French radio station RMC: „I’m okay but several players are in a bad state.
„We are still at hospital. We were machine-gunned like dogs and had to remain hidden under our seats for around 20 minutes to avoid the bullets.”
Midfielder Alaixys Romao admits the players feared the worst and thinks Togo are now likely to pull out of the tournament.
„We’re not thinking yet of what could happen,” said Romao, who plays his club football for Grenoble.
„But it’s true that no-one wants to play. We’re not capable of it.
„We’re thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground.
„For the moment there is not much news because they have been taken to different hospitals.
Midfielder Richmond Forson believes the number of injuries could have been much worse had the gunmen not originally fired on the wrong bus.
„It was the bus carrying our baggage which was in front of us which they fired on the most,” he told Canal Plus. „They thought we were in the bus in front.
„Fortunately for us. That’s what saved us. Then they fired on our driver and those who were in front. The windscreen was shattered by the first bullets.
Dossevi later gave more details about the attack. He added: „We had just crossed the border five minutes before, we were surrounded by police buses, one in front of us another behind.
„Everything was fine and then there was a powerful burst of gunfire.
„Everyone threw themselves under the seats and tried to protect themselves but some couldn’t escape the bullets.
„It lasted a good 15 minutes, the police fired back but really, it was hard to handle and it still is now. I’m shocked.
„When we got off the bus we were asking ourselves why us and not others? We were asking ourselves what had happened, we were crying and thanking God.”
Angela Taylor (Manchester United fan) says…
This is an absolute disgrace. Just reading this story makes my blood boil. The people that attacked the Togo bus are animals. I just hope to God that when we host the World Cup we have our security up to scratch. This is embarrasing for the entire African continent and right now i’m not proud to be a „African”. Angola I hope you sort yourselves out.
Raba Majer (Arsenal fan) says…
Oliver Corbisiero, devastating attacks have occured in the US, england, Spain(where barcelona is) over the past decade. the victims may not have been sports persons, but they were innocent victims all the same. If you are a racist, it turns always to get the better of your judgement of events. Is spain not a developed country/ how many years hs it been under basque terror.Dont tell me it is manufactured in developing africa!
Nick Melson (Arsenal fan) says…
Sad day for football. We wont know the details for sometime and therefore if this was perpetuated by rival „fans” or political extremist. Regardless my thoughts and prayers are with the players, their families, and the people of Africa who are again on the worlds front pages due to an egregious act of violence acted out by a militant minority.
Tom Young (Hull City fan) says…
Awful news!! As much as I hate to say it, this only happens in African nations. With the World Cup coming up in South Africa then surely it needs to be re-thought for the safety of all the players, officials, supporters and everyone invovled. This is a situation FIFA needs to look at
Matthew O’kane (Arsenal fan) says…
This is terrible news and i hope that everyone on the bus has a speedy recovery. Even as an Arsenal fan i hope Adebayor is ok and that there is no long term damage to any of the players. There should be higher security especially as the world cup is not far away now and i hope there are no similar incidents in the future.
Billy Guthrie (Manchester United fan) says…
I am not a man city fan but i am shure that all true football fans will join me in saying that the players hurt and that is including adybyor if hee is among them all the best and a speedy recovery.
Oliver Corbisiero (Barcelona fan) says…
Absolutely ridiculous!! You would not get this in any developed country! Second time, on my count, that this has happened within months. Lets hope World Cup 2010 SOUTH AFRICA will be a non-hostile event!!
Ben Silver (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says…
This is very disturbing news. I hope the players aren’t too badly injured. This is very bad news for the whole African continents footballing ambitions.
Omar Hany (Liverpool fan) says…
This is terrible, I blame the CAF for giving the hosting rights of such a big tournment to an unprepaired nation like Angola, and also blame the Angolean Government for failing to provide enough security to the visiting teams, I hope everyone is ok now and no deaths have occured, this is a bad publicity for Africans with South Africa due to host the World Cup in less than just six months.
Martin Mayanja says…
shame to hear about such events, we are looking forward to a good show then this, defo dont make good reading? Why now, why Togo, and where was the security as well. I thought organisers were on the ball. Well there you alot to ponder and s.africa should take note.
Conor Quinn (Shrewsbury Town fan) says…
Absolutely savage news. Let’s hope the injured Togo player’s injuries aren’t life threatening and that the team recover to be competitive in the African Cup of Nations. One wonders at the motivation behind this, for all we know it could be Danish terrorists but let’s hope it was not motivated for footballing reasons, which would serve further to tarnish the game’s international reputation.
C Schear (Barcelona fan) says…
I hope and pray that everyone on that bus is alright and something like this doesn’t happen again. It’s a sad day for sport when something like this happens. It’s a sport and whether they were targeted or not, it’s outrageous that people would do this to other human beings. Again my prayers are with them and their families.
Firm outsiders Zambia will be looking to win their first African Nations Cup in Angola.
Tunisia will be out to finally live up to the tag of being considered one of Africa’s great powers.
Super Eagles look to add to their two African Nations Cup crowns this month in Angola.
Emmanuel Adebayor escaped unharmed after a bus carrying the Togo national team came under attack from gunfire in Angola.
Ahmed Hassan is looking for Egypt’s opening clash with Nigeria to set the tone for the tournament.
Didier Drogba insists Ivory Coast have learnt the harsh lessons from two years ago.
Samuel Eto’o has warned Cameroon to be ready for a „tricky” encounter when they take on Gabon.
Yusuf Mohamed has backed Shaibu Amodu to lead the team to a successful African Nations Cup campaign.
