I thought everyone would die: Togolese midfielder

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LONDON, Feb 4, 2010 (AFP) - League Cup finalists Aston Villa's Togolese international midfielder Moustapha Salifou admitted on Thursday he didn't think any of the squad would survive the gun attack on their coach prior to the start of the Africa Cup of Nations last month.

The 26-year-old was making his first public comments about the attack by a separatist group from the Angolan enclave of Cabinda which left two members of the Togolese backroom staff dead and also claimed the life of the bus driver.

"It was terrifying. The goalkeeper, (Obilade Kossi - who was seriously wounded) had been dancing and the press assistant was taking pictures of him. They were shot," he told the Daily Mail online edition.

"I didn't feel I would make it off the bus alive. I thought everyone was going to die."

Salifou, who along with his team-mates were recalled by the Togolese government despite the majority of the players wanting to stay and compete, said that as a result he was barely able to sleep and even when he did manage to get some he has a recurring nightmare.

"Since I've been back, I've not slept for four days," said Salifou, who signed for Villa from Swiss side FC Wil in 2007 but has found it hard to establish a first team place.

"When I do, I wake up at 3am or 4am and somebody is shooting at me. I'm trying to forget, but it's difficult."

Salifou, who has also played in France for Stade Brest 29 and in Germany for Oberhausen, went into graphic detail about the terrifying moment when they came under fire.

"We were travelling through a forest when people started to shoot at the coach," said Salifou, who was a key figure when Togo qualified for their first ever World Cup finals in 2006.

"The attackers shot the driver. After two or three minutes we lay on the floor and everyone started crying.

"We couldn't see anyone shooting because of the forest. It was difficult to say how close they were. After two minutes, we all lay on the floor and I was protecting myself.

"We shouted to each other every few minutes: 'Are you okay? Are you okay?' "Our security guys started firing back and then one of them boarded the bus and told us not to scream. If we screamed they would know we were still alive.

"We had to be quiet. Everyone started praying while shots flew over our heads and blood was on the coach floor."

Salifou, who has been referred to as the 'Togolese Zidane', was disgusted by the manner in which they had been treated by the African Football Confederation (CAF) which reached its nadir when they received a four year ban for failing to play any of their matches at the finals.

"If we had returned to the tournament, there were going to be no sanctions against Togo," said Salilou.

"Now they (CAF say we have a four-year ban.

"They treat us like they have because we are a small country. If it had been Cameroon or the Ivory Coast, nobody is going to say they are banned from two African Cup of Nations.

"Have we been picked on? Yes, I think so. If the crime had been against Cameroon or the Ivory Coast, they would never have played the tournament.

"When it is a small country like Togo, it is not the same, although I believe we are appealing the decision."

The state of Togo and relatives of the two victims are now plaintiffs in a suit in a French court targeting the CAF and one of the two rebel groups which claimed responsibility for the attack, whose leader is based in Paris.

Relatives of the two victims hold the CAF responsible for "failing to assure the safety of the team from injury or death," a legal source said, although the French court must still determine whether it has the legal right to act upon the complaint.

The state of Togo also holds the FLEC-PM (Forces for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda-Military Position) responsible for "acts of terrorism", "assassination and attempts to assassinate".

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