Togo attack reminds South Africa of World Cup risks

By Pumza Fihlani BBC News, Johannesburg

The horrifying attack on Togo's football team in Angola has sparked a flurry of alarmist stories in newspapers around the world questioning South Africa's ability to stage the World Cup.

Officials organising the South Africa tournament have moved quickly to dismiss those claims.

We do not need to be reminded by incidents happening in other parts of the world to know what we should plan for Police spokesman Vish Naidoo

In a radio interview Irvin Khoza, chairman of the 2010 local organising committee, stressed the distance between his country and Angola.

"The challenge posed by the attack is the misconception that Africa is a country, not a continent," he told SA FM.

"People in the world are thinking of Africa as one country... we don't share the same border with Angola... it's not even close to South Africa," he said.

It is more than 1,500 miles (2,500 km) from Luanda to Pretoria - with Namibia or Botswana sitting in between the two nations.

'Ready for anything'

As well as the physical distance, South African officials are keen to emphasise the difference in scale of their security operation.

More than 1.3bn rand ($170m; £109m) has been spent to beef up security for the tournament.

South Africa's police force is confident it is well prepared for the World Cup

South Africa's police force has bought helicopters for air surveillance, acquired mobile police stations to be stationed at all key venues and will supply a 24-hour ground patrol using more than 40,000 specially trained officers and private security guards.

Police spokesman Vish Naidoo said his force was "ready for any eventuality" - but added that people should be careful not to compare what happened in Angola with the risks in South Africa.

"People should be assessing South Africa on its own merit, not on the merit of other countries," he said.

The attack does serve as a reminder that high-profile international sporting events are a hugely attractive target for terrorist groups trying to get the maximum publicity for their cause but Mr Naidoo remains confident.

"We do not need to be reminded by incidents happening in other parts of the world to know what we should plan for.

"We have been planning for this event since May 2004," he said.

Sharing information

Togo's national team was attacked soon after their arrival in the Angolan province of Cabinda on Friday to play in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Gunmen killed an assistant coach and the team spokesman and left eight others wounded.

Separatist rebels from a faction of the Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda (Flec) claimed responsibility.

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) think-tank agrees that the authorities are well prepared for any security threat.

"South Africa's intelligence agencies will have received information from different high-risk countries along with their input on threats posed and South Africa would have then prepared adequately," said ISS researcher Johan Berger.

He says the attack in Angola should be looked at solely in the context of Angolan politics.

"You have a liberation movement which has been around for years deciding to exploit an international event for their gain - South Africa does have not that kind of situation," he said.

"It is unfair to conclude that the incident in Angola now raises questions about the security in South Africa."

Worlds apart

Anyone seeking seeking similarities between the two countries will struggle.

South Africa has never faced a separatist insurgency even during the tumultuous apartheid era.

Both South Africa's economy and politics are laid on far stronger foundations than Angola's.

The current Cup of Nations is Angola's first major international sporting event.

But South Africa has staged a number of international sporting events - including rugby and cricket world cups.

The nation also played host to India's cricket Premier League last year precisely because India could not provide enough security.

Mr Berger says South Africa's biggest problem is crime, not terrorism, and says the police do "exceptionally well" at providing security for major events.

"Because of the high crime levels in South Africa and the international attention, South African authorities to their credit went out of their way to make sure that we have all the necessary resources," he said.

With several hundred thousand football fans expected to make the trip to South Africa in June, a few robberies and muggings are almost inevitable.

But if that does prove to be the worst security incident of the month-long football extravaganza, the authorities will count that as a success.

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