LOME/LUANDA, (Reuters) – Unknown assailants opened fire on the coach carrying Togo’s national football squad to the top African tournament in Angola yesterday, killing the driver and wounding four others, a Togolese official said.
“The Angolan driver was killed on the spot,” said a Togolese sports ministry spokesman in Lome, adding that the attack took place in the Angolan enclave of Cabinda, where a separatist group has waged a three-decade long war against the government.
He said the wounded included two squad members and two medics. He said some of those wounded would have to be evacuated for treatment but gave no further details of their identity or the extent of their injuries.
The attack comes just two days before the start of the 2010 African Nations Cup, a pan-continental tournament which will have much of Africa glued to television and radio sets for the next three weeks. Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was uninjured after the attack in Angola, the Premier League club said on their website (www.mcfc.co.uk).
City said club officials have spoken with Adebayor and that he was unharmed, though shaken by the terrible events.
Togo were due to play Ghana in a Group B tie on Monday.