Two members of Togo's national soccer delegation died today following an ambush on the team's bus as it travelled to the African Nations Cup in Angola, a team member told French radio.
Yesterday's attack, in which the driver was also killed and seven others were injured, took place in Cabinda, a province where guerrillas have fought a secession campaign for decades.
"We lost the assistant coach and the press officer," said Messan Attelou, chief spokesman for Togo's soccer federation.
Togolese officials named the dead men as media officer Stanislas Ocloo and assistant coach Amalete Abalo, and said reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale had been evacuated to Johannesburg for medical treatment.
The attack came five months before neighbouring South Africa hosts the World Cup, the first African nation to hold the world's biggest single sport event.
Virgilio Santos, an official with the African Nations Cup local organising committee COCAN, said teams had been told explicitly not to travel to the tournament by road.
"We asked that all delegations inform us when they would arrive and provide the passport number of their players," he told the sports weekly A Bola.
"Togo was the only team not to respond and did not inform COCAN it was coming by bus ... The rules are clear: No team should travel by bus. I don't know what led them to do this."
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Reuters