Fear factor: Emmanuel Adebayor knew what to expect
Safe and well: Emmanuel Adebayor is helped into hospita lin Cabina.Shaken: Adebayor is helped away from the bus attack in Cabinda
Terrified: Togo players regroup after the attack on their bus
Comforted: Togo players recover from the gun attack
Emmanuel Adebayor survived the attack and in shock.
Anxious moments: Togo's reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale arrives on a stretcher at Lanseria airport after being evacuated to Johannesburg
On guard: Angolan police special forces monitor a bus as it leaves the Olympic Village
Star asset: Man City's Emmanuel Adebayor is Togo's main man.Were sitting at the back of the bus when shooting started.
Hero: Adebayor is heading Togo's bid for glory
Badly injured: Romanian club FC Vaslui confirmed their defender Serge Akakpo was shot in the attack
On the ball: Fans gather in Luanda, Angola in preparation for the tournament, which is scheduled to kick-off on Sunday
Shooting: The attack happened as the Togo team bus crossed the border
Fearing the worst: Martin Samuel¿s column, August 19, 2009
Going home: The Togo squad are leaving the Africa Cup of Nations without playing a game
Tragedy: Togo assistant coach Abalo Amelete was killed in the attack
General secretary of African Football Confederation Moustafa Fahmi
Hours before the competition starts Sunday, players said they wanted to stay in Angola
Injured Togo team member 'stable' in S.Africa.
Togo's government insisted Sunday that the national football team return from the African Nations Cup in Angola after a deadly attack on their convoy, even after the squad said they wanted to play.
Hours before the opening match in Luanda, players said they wanted to honour those killed in Friday's separatist attack by sticking with the tournament even though one teammate lay in a Johannesburg hospital with bullet wounds.
But Togo government spokesman Pascal Bodjona told AFP in Lome that the team must return home.
"People are dead. The goalkeeper (Kodjovi) Obilale is in intensive care," he said.
"The best thing to do is not to stay," he said. "The government is maintaining its decision to call the team back home."
The announcement added to confusion over whether Togo, one of Africa's strongest teams, would compete in the continent's top football event after the attack that killed the assistant coach and squad spokesman and injured nine.
Nations Cup organisers and Angolan Prime Minister Paulo Kassoma had made impassioned pleas for Togo to stay, making repeated assurances to bolster security for the games.
Angolan rebels warn weapons will "talk" in Cabinda
The Cabinda shooting had police on edge in Luanda where a burst of gunfire was heard near the centre of the capital early Sunday.
Witness Rafael Antas said: "They (the police) fired shots into the ground after a driver refused to stop for them."
"The last time I heard gunshots in Luanda was at the end of the (civil) war in 2002," said another witness, Antonia Godinha. "The police are panicking after what happened up in Cabinda," she added.
Togo international Thomas Dossevi, who plays for French side Nantes, told AFP in Cabinda that the players had unanimously decided that they wanted to stay despite the security worries.
"We are all heartbroken, it is no longer a party, but we want to show our national colours, our values and that we are men," Dossevi said.
Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor had earlier been reported by his club Manchester City to be returning to Britain.
Kassoma met with CAF president Issa Hayatou to reassure him about player safety ahead of the opening match in Luanda at 1900 GMT Sunday.
"Let us go on together, united in this big event, this major celebration of African youth in this year of glory for African sport," Kassoma said on state radio.
Hooded gunmen opened fire on the Togo team's buses as they crossed into the restive Angolan enclave of Cabinda in an attack claimed by a faction of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), a separatist group battling for independence in the oil-rich territory.
It warned the attack was "only the start of a series of targeted actions".
Goalkeeper Obilale was in a good condition after undergoing surgery in a Johannesburg hospital for gunshot wounds to the lower back and abdomen, a doctor told reporters.
"The operation went well. It was a routine operation... The patient is in good general condition," said surgeon Elias Degiannis.
He had already undergone an operation in Cabinda, the doctor said, adding that it was still too early to assess the full extent of his injuries.
Organisers had earlier insisted the games would proceed as planned, but did not say how they would handle Togo's decision to withdraw its team.
"CAF is continuing with its schedule and the sovereign authorities of the country (Angola) are taking the adequate measures surrounding security," said Constant Omari, a member of the organising committee.
Hosts Angola take on Mali Sunday at Luanda's new 50,000-seat November 11 Stadium in the first game in the 22-day tournament.
The Africa Cup of Nations Nations is in danger of being scrapped after Togo's team bus was machine -gunned by terrorists.
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was among the players who were trapped on the coach by a 20-minute hail of bullets from Angolan rebels.
Adebayor miraculously escaped unhurt but the driver was killed and six others injured - and at least two are thought to be players.
Manchester City released a statement relating to Adebayor, which read: "Manchester City can confirm that striker Emmanuel Adebayor is uninjured after this afternoon's attack on the Togo team bus in Angola.
"Club officials have spoken with Adebayor and, though shaken by the terrible events, he is unharmed.
"The club would like to send its condolences to the family of the driver and sends best wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured.
"We are currently in talks with the Football Association over what may happen next."
Aston Villa midfielder Moustapha Salifou, one of 28 English-based players at the tournament, emerged shocked but unharmed.
Salifou spoke to his brother Eddie in Togo and said: 'I am okay but extremely shocked and very upset.'
Villa boss Martin O'Neill told his club's official website, www.avfc.co.uk: "I am really shocked to hear about this.
"Obviously I am pleased and relieved to hear that Moustapha is okay and that he is not among the injured people.
"The club have been in contact with him and he has reassured us that he is okay but he is extremely shocked and upset, which he would be in these circumstances."
The attack happened as the Togo team bus crossed the border heading for Cabinda where they were due to play Ghana on Monday. The event kicks off tomorrow.
Describing the horrifying scenes, Nantes striker Thomas Dos sevi said: 'We were machine-gunned like dogs and had to remain hidden under our seats for around 20 minutes to avoid the bullets. I'm OK but several players are in a bad state. We're still at hospital.'
Midfielder Richmond Forson claimed the number of injuries could have been much worse had the gunmen not originally targeted the wrong coach.
He told Canal Plus: 'The bus carrying our baggage was in front of us which they fired on first. 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. Blood was pouring down the floor of the bus.'
City learned news of Adebayor after contacting Kolo Toure who had spoken to his team-mate's wife. Ironically, Adebayor had expressed his safety concerns, saying: 'We hope everyone comes back safely.'
Officials will meet today to discuss the outrage but will be under massive pressure to press ahead with the event.
This tournament was meant to begin an African carnival leading up to the World Cup in South Africa in June but will only serve to highlight security worries regarding football's biggest showpiece.
Manchester City and Portsmouth have contacted the Football Association, asking them to speak to football's world governing body to ensure players' safety can be guaranteed, and calling for them to be sent home if it cannot.
A spokesman for Portsmouth, who have a number of players away on African Nations Cup duty, told Press Association Sport: "We will be asking the FA to talk to FIFA to ensure the players' safety. That is paramount, and if the players' safety can't be ensured, then the players should be sent home."
Chelsea, who have Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Michael Essien and John Obi
Mikel away on Nations Cup duty, released a statement tonight which read: "We
are sure that the national teams and federations along with the authorities are
taking every necessary security precaution to ensure the safety of the players
and staff."
The FA issued a statement on the situation in Angola which read:
"Following the terrible attack on the Togo national team in Angola, the
Football Association is in contact with various English clubs who have players
involved in the African Nations Cup.
"We will continue to ensure we are kept up to speed with all developments and
do all we can to assist our clubs and those players involved.
"The FA is currently contacting various organisations, including FIFA."
Describing the horrifying scenes, Nantes striker Thomas Dos sevi said: 'We were machine-gunned like dogs and had to remain hidden under our seats for around 20 minutes to avoid the bullets. I'm OK but several players are in a bad state. We're still at hospital.'
Midfielder Richmond Forson claimed the number of injuries could have been much worse had the gunmen not originally targeted the wrong coach.
He told Canal Plus: 'The bus carrying our baggage was in front of us which they fired on first. 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. Blood was pouring down the floor of the bus.'
Read more about Togo
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