Angolan police arrest two after attack on Togo football team

January 11, 2010

Angolan police arrested two people earlier today, on charges of attacking the football team from Togo that was travelling by bus en route to a tournament, which left two of the Togolese team's support staff and their Angolan bus driver dead.

Macario Lembe, the deputy governor of Angola's Cabinda province, commented on the incident. "Two assailants were captured on Friday, one a few minutes after the attack and the second at the border while crossing into Congo-Brazzaville. The first suspect was injured in his left thigh by police who responded when he opened fire from a tree at the Togolese bus."

The two arrested suspects were reportedly part of a team of five that ambushed the Togolese bus with gunfire on Friday as it passed through Cabinda, a province of Angola. The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Togolese team pulled out of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations football tournament, which opened yesterday, due to the ambush.