The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have refused Togo’s request for an opportunity to re-enter the African Nations Cup (ACN) after three days of national mourning.

Togolese sports minister Christophe Padumhokou Tchao said yesterday that “we have asked (CAF) to find an arrangement so we can catch up with the competition later.”

But in a statement this morning, CAF announced their decision to refuse the Togolese, although they neglected to offer a reason for it.

Worries remain over continued participation in the tournament. Cote D’Ivoire’s Didier Drogba, arguably the tournament’s highest-profile player, and Egypt’s Mohamed Zidan have both been the subject of concerns about tournament security, despite the reported arrest of two suspected participants in Friday’s gun attack on the Togolese team bus.

Angola’s state-owned news agency, Angop, reported provincial prosecutor Antonio Nito as saying: “Two elements of the (Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda) were arrested at the scene of the incident.”

Drogba’s concerns were expressed for him by departing Togo player Alaixys Romao, who claimed the Chelsea striker “was not ready to play in this African Nations Cup.”

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc told German newspaper Ruhrnachrichten that “Zidan’s safety is of paramount importance” and that Dortmund were considering whether the striker should be recalled.

However, Egyptian coach Hassan Shehata said, with characteristic bluntness: “We are not ready to accept any request to recall him.”