Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Togo’s government ordered its soccer team to pull out of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Angola after a gun attack on the team bus killed three people and forced one player to undergo surgery in South Africa.

“We understand the urge of some players to stay and take revenge for their dead colleagues, but it would be irresponsible of the Togolese authorities to let them continue,” the country’s Prime Minister Gilbert Foussoun Houngbo said today in a statement on the government’s Web site.

The team bus came under machine gun fire Jan. 8 just after it had crossed the border from the Republic of Congo into the Angolan enclave of Cabinda. A separatist movement claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed the driver, an assistant coach and a press officer.

Since the attack, players have given contradictory interviews with French radio stations, first saying they wanted to return home and then deciding to stay and contest the tournament, which starts later today. Togo’s captain, Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor, who was unhurt in the attack, said the team would follow government instructions and return home.

“If their decision is to return home, then we will,” Adebayor said in an interview with RMC radio today. “That’s what seems to be happening.”

Kodjovi Obilale, Togo’s reserve goalkeeper, had emergency surgery last night at the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg after being admitted with a single AK-47 bullet wound in his lower back. He is being kept ventilated and sedated, Elias Degiannis, who heads a specialized trauma team at the hospital, said in an e-mailed statement today.

Goalkeeper Airlifted

Obilale, 25, was airlifted to the South African hospital yesterday.

“We are optimistic, but it’s far too early to say anything,” said Professor Ken Boffard, who assisted in the surgery and is head of trauma at Milpark. “He’s had a gunshot wound and two operations within a 24-hour period. The intention is within the next few days to allow him to wake up and to recover and see if there is any residual damage.”

Richard Friedland, chief executive officer of Netcare Ltd., the operator of the hospital, said that Obilale had spoken to his family prior to undergoing surgery. GSI Pontivy, the fourth division French team where Obilale plays, said on its Web site that he spoke to his brother last night.

South African President Jacob Zuma said the attack in Angola had “no bearing” on the soccer World Cup that his country will host in June. Zuma traveled to Angola today to attend the Africa Cup of Nations, according to a statement.

Separatist Group

The attack “should not be blown out of proportion, but should serve as impetus for the African continent and the world at large to work even harder to rid the world of terrorist activity,” Zuma said.

The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda, or FLEC, Angola’s main separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Portugal’s state-run Lusa news agency. The group said today it will keep up its armed struggle, Agence France-Presse reported.

Cabindan separatists, led by FLEC, have been fighting a secessionist guerilla war since Angola became independent from Portugal in 1975. The province, which is situated between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo on Africa’s west coast, is physically separate from Angola. It generates most of the 1.9 million barrels of oil a day that is pumped in Angola, Africa’s second-biggest crude producer.

Togo was to play its first African Cup game tomorrow against Ghana as part of Group B. Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso are the other teams in the four-strong group.

The tournament kicks off tonight with Angola playing Mali.

Angolan Prime Minister Paulo Kassoma met yesterday with African soccer officials to reassure them on the safety of the players, Agence France-Presse reported.