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During the repatriation of the remains of Abalo Amélété and Stanislas Ocloo, on January 15, 2010, a week after the fatal attack on the bus of the Togo football team in Cabinda. EMILE KOUTON / AFP

On January 8, 2010, “Hawks” from Togo on their way to the African Cup of Nations in Angola were victims of an attack in the enclave of Cabinda. Their bus is machine-gunned. The Togolese death toll is two: Stan Ocloo, the team's communications officer, Amélété Abalo, the assistant coach and the injured, including goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilalé, who is seriously injured and now disabled. Ten years later, bitterness and sadness still prevail. Reportage.

Ten years after this attack, the pain remains acute in the families of the victims. Émile Ocloo continues to mourn Stan, his only son, who was cut down by a bullet, during the shooting of the "Éperviers" bus. " I remain very affected and very sad ," he says. Stan Ocloo is our only boy among our daughters and he is the one who disappeared like that. It suffocates me when I want to talk about how I feel… ”

Assistant coach Amélété Abalo's wife is also plagued by pain and illness. " I heard the news from RFI radio at noon on January 9, 2010 ," said widow Emma Amélété. I fell, passed out. Since that day, I am under tension. It was very difficult. But I can say that, thank God, I live today ”.

Players marked for life

Seriously injured, goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale has been unable to play football since then.

Sad results for this trip to Cabinda where Group B was based, which included Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Burkina Faso. A journey that had started well, however. " On January 8, we were on the road to Cabinda after leaving Pointe-Noire ," said porter Kossi Agassa. Then there was an attack, a shooting, but we didn't know where it came from. Today is a sad story. We all saw death in the face. It could have been me, like it could have been others. Every year on January 8, we all have that in the back of our minds. I was lucky, at the time, to be in Istres (in the south of France, Editor's note) . A psychologist came to see us for consultations. It could go faster than expected. Two weeks later, I was able to start playing again. I left it in the back of my mind so I could continue my career . ”

Togolese remain unclear

A few days after the tragedy, the "Sparrowhawks", traumatized, weakened, returned to Togo where the attack caused consternation and sadness. “ In Lomé, it was desolation. We no longer knew which saint to devote to , recalls sports journalist Sylvestre Gounoubou. Because we already had questions about the Lungi crash [a helicopter accident on June 3, 2007 had resulted in the deaths of around 20 members of the Togolese delegation, editor's note]. We continued to mourn our dead. And, unfortunately, this attack came to drive us further into our problems. What once again hit the nail on the head was the behavior of the African Football Confederation (CAF), which lacked a little humanity. The CAF had sanctioned Togo because the government of the time had asked for the 'Sparrowhawks' to be repatriated. Fortunately, five months later, the sanction had been lifted . ”

If all of the players who came out of the attack were able to rebuild and continue their professional careers, for the grieving families, the wait for a repair turns out to be long. Hence this call from Emile Ocloo: " I would like to take advantage of the RFI antenna to launch an SOS to all the goodwill who will want to make a contribution to the handling of this dramatic dossier. This Wednesday, January 8, in the evening, in Lomé, a solemn mass will be said in memory of the disappeared.