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.
The 26-year-old was making his first public comments about the attack by a separatist group from the Angolan enclave of Cabinda that 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 teammates 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 went into graphic details about the terrifying moment when the squad came under fire.
“We were traveling 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 OK? Are you OK?’” he said. “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.”
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