Togo decided to take no part in the African Cup of Nations (CAN) after three more members of their delegation in Angola were pronounced dead, according to widespread reports. The driver of Togo's bus was instantly killed and nine people, including two players, were terribly wounded when gunmen opened fire on the bus in the Angolan enclave of Cabinda. The death toll rose when assistant coach Abalo Amelete and press officer Stanislas Ocloo were confirmed dead, while L'Equipe reported that fringe goalie Kodjovi Obilale also passed away. "We lost the assistant coach and the press officer," said Messan Attelou, chief spokesman for Togo's football association. The unfortunate trio, who were among the nine injured members, are understood to have died in hospital. CAN organizers announced shortly after the attack that the competition will be held as scheduled, assuring that the security measures in Angola will be significantly stepped up. However, Togo reportedly announced their withdrawal from the biennial tournament, and now they are urging Group B contenders to follow suit. "We're talking to the other teams in our group to try to convince them to boycott too," midfielder Alaixys Romao told French paper L'Equipe. The Sparrow Hawks were set to face Ghana in their nations cup opener on Monday. Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso are the other teams in the group. Act of Barbarism On the other hand, Togo boss Hubert Velud called for the cancelation of the entire tournament, citing local authorities' inability to protect the contingents as a reason for the rest of the teams to pull out. "We can at least pose ourselves that question," he told French radio station RMC. "It's an act of barbarism while we are here to celebrate African football. "We left the hospital a short time ago to come to the centre for the teams in the competition. We stayed in the hospital a long time so that we could be very united. "In these situations you become a bit paranoid, you doubt everything. We don't feel that the authorities are taking this very seriously." A separatist group - the Front for the Liberation of Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) - claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred two days before CAN gets underway. Angola have suffered under civil war for decades before it was formally brought to an end in 2002. They improved their infrastructure to stage CAN for the first time in their history. South Africa, who are also no strangers to safety concerns, will become the first country to host the World Cup, which will take place next summer.
