Even after seeing the coach driver and two of their colleagues die, all victims of terrorist machine-gun fire, Emmanuel Adebayor and his Togo team-mates decided they wanted to play. That they would not let the murderers win and would instead honour those who had perished by competing in the Africa Cup of Nations. In the end, it was Gilbert Houngbo who ordered them to withdraw, the Togo prime minister insisting it would be 'irresponsible' to let those for tunate enough to emerge unscathed from the attack to remain in Angola. 'If there is a team or persons present under the banner of Togo at the opening of the African Nations Cup this afternoon, it will be a false representation,' Houngbo said yesterday. 'The team must return today. 'We understand the position of the players who want to in some way avenge their dead colleagues, but it would be irresponsible for the Togolese authorities to allow them to continue.' Adebayor, captain of the griefstricken team, accepted the decision. 'The head of state has decided we will return,' the Manchester City striker told a French radio station. 'There was a meeting between players on Saturday and we said we were still footballers. 'We all decided to do something good for the country and play to honour those who died. Unfortunately, the head of state and the country's authorities have decided otherwise. We'll pack up and go home. 'Is there going to be another attack? Nobody knows. The head of state knows what is good for our careers and our lives. We are obliged to respect that and the presidential plane will pick us up.' Adebayor spoke emotively of the dilemma facing the team. 'At 14:30 on Friday we were all dead on that bus,' he said. 'We sent our last messages to our families. We called our families to say our last words. But I survived and I told myself, "If you're still there on the ground in Angola, why not play?"' Adebayor spoke to members of the Ivory Coast and Ghana sides Togo were due to meet in the first round. Reports last night suggested Morocco might take the vacant Group B spot. 'As captain and spokesman of Togo, I spoke with all authorities,' said Adebayor. 'I told them to take the measures necessary for our security. 'I spoke with the captain and the Ivory Coast delegation and with Ghanaians. They expressed their support by saying they were ready to leave if we did. 'But we realised that they were ready to continue. It's still a continent where a World Cup will take place in South Africa. If we speak of the dead, the competition should have been cancelled. 'But the Confederation of African Football have decided otherwise. We're going back and we wish good luck to those who remain, especially to Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Ghana. I've told their leaders they may be attacked any time in Cabinda. I hope they'll be cautious.' The CAF confirmed that a minute's silence will be held before all firstround matches. 'Despite the terrorist attack, Cabinda will remain a hosting city,' Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos said in an opening speech before the thrilling first match when hosts Angola were held 4-4 by Mali. 'There is no need to be afraid.' Those killed in the attack were named as assistant coach Amelete Abalo and media officer Stan O'Cloo. Reserve keeper Kodjovi Obilale was in an induced coma in a hospital in Johannesburg after being shot twice in the back. Bayer Leverkusen's Assimiou Toure spoke of the moment when members of the separatist group, The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda, opened fire. 'It was horrible,' he said. 'I was scared to death. The driver and two others were hit in their lower body and others got bullets in the leg. They have had surgery and are in intensive care. Nothing happened to me. Thank God I was sat in the penultimate row at the back. They shot at the front of the bus.' Toure also paid tribute to the guards who defended the team and prevented a massacre. 'We were coming from the Congo and were only about 10 minutes away from the Angolan border with our two buses,' he explained. 'In the middle of the forest, we were ambushed and shot at. 'They absolutely peppered the first bus with bullets, probably thinking that we were all sitting in there, but that was only our luggage. The whole thing lasted about half an hour. We had an escort and they shot back and kept the attackers in check and called for assistance. If the army had not been there, then none of us would be alive now. All I could do was jump under my seat and pray.' Aston Villa's Moustapha Salifou was among those who survived and manager Martin O'Neill said the midfielder would be given support. 'Something like that is going to live with him for a very long time, if not for the rest of his life,' O'Neill told the BBC. 'It was very, very harrowing and he's a very sensitive lad. He's very popular in the dressing room and very quiet. He's got a wry sense of humour, but he's an exceptional fellow and I think he will take this badly. But we have people who can help.' Rodrigues Mingas, the secretary general of the FLEC separatist group that claimed responsibility for the attack, insisted the Togo team were not the intended target. Mingas revealed he had written two months ago to CAF president Issa Hayatou warning him of the dangers of staging games in Cabinda. But Mingas added: 'The attack was not against the Togo team. We've nothing against them. We're at war with Angola, which is illegally occupying our territory. Our troops are ordered to attack Angolan forces, and the team of Togo, by chance, was hit by our troops. 'Behind the first cars with the Angolan troops were others with more troops. In the middle, was the team coach of Togo. It's something we regret.' Source: www.dailymail.co.uk