I think that some people are just looking for any chance to take a shot at South Africa, and it’s sad. Good job pointing out the differences.

The more I read into this incident the more I am flabbergasted and shocked that the team was allowed to travel by bus across such dangerous terrains.

If humble blog authors like you and I can learn about the dangers with just a cursory check around the net then team and competition organisers should have been on it in a serious way. Not acceptable.

Togo’s training camp was in the Republic of the Congo (not DR Congo (ex-Zaire)).

The Republic of the Congo shares a border with Cabinda; the rest of Angola does not (there is a piece of DR Congo in between).

“Americans located in, or planning to visit, the northern province of Cabinda should be aware of threats to their safety outside of Cabinda city. In 2008 and 2009 armed groups specifically targeted and attacked expatriates in Cabinda; armed attacks resulted in the rape, robbery or murder of several expatriates working in Cabinda. Those responsible have declared their intention to continue attacks against expatriates. Occasional attacks against police and Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) convoys and outposts also continue to be reported. These incidents, while small in number, occur with little or no warning. American citizens are, therefore, urged to exercise extreme caution when traveling outside of Cabinda city and limit travel to essential only.”

From: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1096.html#safety

But at the same time it is also important to note that this happened well outside the actual city of Cabinda. My understanding is that the city itself (which has many gleaming oil company buildings, including Chevron, than no one would allow to be touched) is much more secure than the hinterlands (where the bus was travelling). In the reports I’ve read this was the controversy about the Togo bus plans — the intention was for them to fly from training in Congo to Luanda, and then from Luanda to the city of Cabinda directly. If they were only in the city and the airport of Cabinda (which is, I think, what the other teams are doing) then the rebels / terrorists / whoever would not be much of a threat.

I have not been to Cabinda myself, but I have spent a fair bit of time in Luanda and it too was like that during the long civil war–though there was much strife and conflict in the Angolan countryside, the city itself was mostly a protected haven (which is one reason why so many squatter settlements sprung up stuffed full of people taking refuge from the countryside). But, I was told in Luanda, even during the worst of the Angolan civil war in Luanda itself there was a vibrant night life and lots of business as usual. Though that may be a somewhat perverse way to live, it is often what happens in places like Angola and is what I imagine the situation in Cabinda to be like.