Angola attack transforms optimism to horror
January 3, 2010
The Angolan government chose to use the northern enclave of Cabinda as a venue for the African Cup of Nations to improve the province's war-torn image and drive investment.
But their plan has turned out to be a tragic own goal with reports of three dead, Togo pulling out of the tournament and Angola in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The Togolese team - which includes Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Aston Villa midfielder Moustapha Salifou - were shot at by a group of gunmen as they travelled by bus from the Republic of Congo into Cabinda, which is separated from Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The small jungle province is home to much of Angola's offshore petroleum activity has been at the centre of a long-running independence fight led by various splinter groups of Flec (the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda).
Despite a so-called peace deal in 2006, low level insurgency has continued and there have been sporadic reports of attacks on members of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and some on Chinese and Brazilian nationals working in the province.
The Togolese team - which includes Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Aston Villa midfielder Moustapha Salifou - were shot at by a group of gunmen as they travelled by bus from the Republic of Congo into Cabinda, which is separated from Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The small jungle province is home to much of Angola's offshore petroleum activity has been at the centre of a long-running independence fight led by various splinter groups of Flec (the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda).
Despite a so-called peace deal in 2006, low level insurgency has continued and there have been sporadic reports of attacks on members of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and some on Chinese and Brazilian nationals working in the province.
