Chelsea's star striker Didier Drogba has revealed for the first time of his terror after the Togolese team was attacked by Angolan rebels during the African Nations Cup.
Drogba admitted that he and his Ivory Coast team-mates feared "being shot like rabbits" on the training field in Angola.
He and Manchester City star Kolo Touré, 28, were nearby when gunmen ambushed the Togo team's bus in a terrifying 20-minute attack that left three people dead.
Drogba admitted, "I was really afraid. Suddenly you become paranoid and see danger everywhere. On the training pitch I found myself thinking we could be shot like rabbits because that would be even easier than attacking a team bus."
The striker told how fellow Premier League ace Touré panicked when he could not get hold of City pal and Togo's captain Emmanuel Adebayor, The Sun reports.
"At one stage Kolo even believed that Ade had been shot. Finally, when we arrived at our training hotel, Kolo got in touch with Ade and both of us went to his room at the Togo hotel," Drogba said.
"When he showed me pictures taken on his mobile phone of the goalkeeper, Kodjovi Obilale, who had been shot, and I saw the bullets in his back, I began to understand the brutality of the attack," he said.
Drogba said that the tragedy, fears for his team-mates and a heavy military presence had left him unable to play well or enjoy the tournament in Angola.
"I didn't sleep, it was impossible, firstly because I spent a lot of time reassuring my family and friends but also because I could barely comprehend what happened. We tried to reassure ourselves but we were really afraid.
"We wanted to do only one thing - leave as quickly as possible. But our government made us stay. The president explained why we had to stay, not betray Angola. It supported our country not so long ago," Drogba said.
Togo's team bus came under machine gun fire on January 8, two days before the tournament began.
