Togo team bus attacked at border

The build-up to Sunday's Africa Cup of Nations kick off turned tragic today when news emerged of an horrific incident on Angola's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The team bus carrying players and officials from Togo was attacked by rebel gunmen shortly after crossing into the Cabinda region of northern Angola. The news reached the wires when Nantes striker Thomas Dossevi told a French radio station that the players were "machine-gunned like dogs".

Vaslui defender Serge Akakpo was wounded and has undergone successful surgery, while goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was said by Dossevi to have been bleeding heavily. Tragically, the driver of the bus was killed in the ambush and our thoughts go out to his family as well as Akakpo and Obilale.

Disappointing media coverage

The British media, of course, was preoccupied with the well-being of Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor. That's understandable, to a point - after all, City supporters would have had him at the front of their minds much as I was concerned for the welfare of Moustapha Salifou.

But Sky Sports News apparently reported on City's statement that Adebayor was safe before moving back on to news of the English weather. Every other report I've seen began with the words "Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor". The lack of understanding of the gravity of the situation is probably just my paranoia, but the focus does seem to be slightly in the wrong place.

Cabinda and poor organisation/communication

However, twofootedtackle friend Jon over at Just Football has been covering the unraveling of events superbly this evening and raises questions far more important than how our cock-eyed media has reported the attack.

Why was Cabinda chosen as a venue when nationalist rebels clearly remain active in the region? It may be hindsight for us, but for tournament organisers it should have been known. The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) has apparently claimed responsibility for the ambush.

Why were the team travelling by road through a volatile region when they were expected to arrive by air via the capital, Luanda. This is particularly troublesome because Togolese officials also seem confused by aspects of the journey and, as Jon notes, have a history of becoming embroiled in disputes with Togo players.

Will the ACN go ahead?

And what happens to the competition now? My personal view is that it should go ahead - after all, it may be difficult to defeat terrorists but we can at least stand up to them - but then I'm not there. My team-mates haven't been shot, and I'm not one of the many players now preparing to play a high-profile tournament in a country in which they may become targets.

The talk from the Togo players, via captain Adebayor, is that a team meeting will be held tonight and a decision made on whether to boycott the competition. Further doubt is thrown on the competition by Portsmouth, who have asked the FA to seek assurances over the safety of Aruna Dindane, Nadir Belhadj, Hassan Yebda and Nwankwo Kanu and threatened to bring them home otherwise.

So now we're just bending over when terrorists attack? Or is it, as one of my favourite cynics suggested, more to do with Portsmouth's precarious league position?

The latest news, according to FourFourTwo is that CAF has announced that the tournament will go ahead on Sunday.

The World Cup is in South Africa, not Angola

Predictably, comment is rife on the security of this summer's World Cup in South Africa. Henry Winter, a football hack at The Telegraph, was the unsurprising poster boy for the connection of two entirely different countries and the assumed unification of Africa which smacks of ignorance.

Africa, like every other continent, has dangerous areas. Hell, it may even have more than most. But to draw South Africa into the workings of a separatist group in northern Angola is misguided at best. As Dan at Aston Villa Central has highlighted in the final map in his post on the subject, the distance between Cape Town and Cabinda is comparable to that between London and Tripoli.

For his part, Jon pointed out on Twitter that Angola and South Africa are different countries just as are, say, Italy and Bosnia.

There are many, many valid security concerns for World Cup 2010. But it's unfair to make out that the actions of rebels hell bent on Cabindan independence is one of them.

Overall, though, the most important thing is that the injured - players and others alike - recover fully and quickly, and the family of the deceased are supported by the Togolese federation. My thoughts are with them and with all the normal, law-abiding people of Angola.