Togo withdraws, goalkeeper operated upon in South Africa

LUANDA - Togo’s football team Saturday withdrew from the Africa Cup of Nations, while injured goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale underwent surgery in the South African city of Johannesburg late Saturday.

Obilale was injured during Friday’s attack on the Togolese team bus during which the vehicle was sprayed by machine gun fire shortly after entering Angola’s Cabinda province from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is believed that at least two people, the assistant coach Abalo Amnalete and the team’s spokesman Stanislas Ocloo, died during the attack. There are also unconfirmed reports that the bus driver was killed in the ambush.

Obilale, who was admitted to the Millpark Hospital in Johannesburg, was one of two people airlifted to South Africa, but the other one died en route.

The hospital said in a statement that they could confirm that the seriously injured 25-year-old goalkeeper, who plays for French club GSI Pontivy, was admitted to the clinic.

The hospital CEO Dr Richard Friedland said that a specialist trauma team had been placed on alert ahead of his arrival. “The patient, who has two gun shot wounds to his back, was well cared for by our colleagues in Angola and is stable, awake, fully alert and aware.

“Whilst it is too early to determine the full extent of his injuries, we can confirm that he will be undergoing surgery later Saturday.”

“The injured player arrived in South Africa via an international SOS mercy flight shortly after 6pm this evening and was placed in the care of the hospital trauma team.”

A hospital spokesman said that injuries like those sustained by Obilale were not uncommon to the trauma team and he was in the best possible hands.

“A further update on his condition will be given on Sunday.”

Earlier Saturday Togo government spokesperson Pascal Bodjona confirmed that the team would return home.

Bodjona, who is also the Minister of State for Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Local Collectivities, stated that the government has decided to call the team back from Angola after Friday’s attack.

“We can’t take part in the tournament under these circumstances. We could not continue the African Nations Cup in this dramatic situation. The players are in a state of shock,” said Bodjona.

Journalists in Angola have found information difficult to come by, with Swiss football journalist Silvano Speranza saying that conditions in the country were very difficult.

“Communications are not easy at the moment and nobody really knows what is going on.

“Media are speaking to the players directly and they are saying many different things, so as many different versions are being put out, it become more difficult to see what is happening,” he said.

A separatist movement, the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Obilale and defender Serge Akakpo, who plays for Romanian club Vaslui and was hit twice by bullets, were the players wounded in the attack, which also saw several other people injured.

FLEC, which has threatened further attacks during the tournament, has been involved in a long-running struggle for independence for the Cabinda region, which is separated from the rest of Angola by the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A 2006 peace agreement between the two sides sought to bring a formal end to the armed conflict but sporadic attacks on government forces and expatriate workers have continued.

The region is rich in oil reserves.

The team has been drawn into the so-called Group of Death with Ghana, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, and was due to play its first match against Ghana on Monday. The tournament kicks off Sunday when hosts Angola face Mali.

Africa’s controlling football body the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said that the tournament would go ahead as scheduled.

CAF spokesman Mahmoud Garga told German Press Agency DPA from Cabinda that they had been approached by Togo officials with a request to play their Group B matches at a different venue, but that this had not been possible.

The Angolan government meanwhile said that the shooting was an isolated incident.

Prime Minister Paulo Kassoma said after a meeting with the president of CAF Issa Hayatou that the security of the competition was guaranteed.