Those who died in the attack are the Angolan bus driver, the team’s spokesman Stanislas Ocloo and assistant coach Amalete Abalo.Nine were injured – two players, an assistant manager, physio, goalkeeping coach and another coach.Defender Serge Akakpo, was hit by two bullets and lost a lot of blood but his condition was reported to be stable after successful surgery.Reserve keeper Obilale was also seriously wounded and transferred to hospital in South Africa.The Togolese team which had initially decided to pull out of the tournament have now released this statement….
“In memory of the dead, the national team has decided to play in the African Nations Cup. 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. It was a decision taken nearly unanimously by the team which met during the night after having been reassured by the Angolan authorities. [The team is] a bit bitter, we are a little disappointed with the Confederation of African Football (CAF)…which couldn’t arrange for a postponement of our first match so we could bury our dead. CAF puts its interests first and not those of the countries. They did not support us enough.”
Talk about courage under fire.