The Real Mallorca forward is disappointed to see the tournament going ahead after the rebel attack in Cabinda.
In an exclusive interview with Goal.com, Real Mallorca's Guinea international striker Kieta Otchico has hit out at the Confederation of African Football's decision to go ahead with the Africa Cup of Nations following last Friday's attack on the Togolese team bus.

Otchico's words couldn't be more damming, and come ahead of Day 2 of the AFCON, when Togo were due to start their campaign. Had they continued in the tournament, they would have been playing Ghana. Instead Cabinda, the scene of the attack on Togo's team bus, will host the match between the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. And, even though the opening game between the hosts Angola and Mali provided a thrilling 4-4 draw, Otchico feels it’s wrong that the tournament has been allowed to go ahead.

“I felt bad, I felt very bad when I heard the news, because this is the Africa Cup of Nations. This is a world game. Everybody is attending, everybody is looking at it and when this happens, it’s very bad, especially for the African players."

The diminutive striker then unleashed his criticism of the African governing body, CAF (Confederation of African Football).

“I was thinking that CAF would stop the competition, especially as they shot a player. That’s really crazy! So I was not happy at all when they didn't," he said, after watching his club side Mallorca go down to a 2-0 defeat at Real Madrid.

"Ok, so CAF is the boss here, but for me, how can the African Cup continue when you have had deaths? That is very bad and it’s the first time I have seen that happen. But I guess now we just have to look up and keep going ahead as that's all we can do."

Given the turmoil in the country, Otchico feels it was a mistake giving such a big tournament to Angola in the first place.

“When this sort of thing happens, then I think it was a mistake. Without proper security for African players, for it seems there is no security for any of the countries there, I think it was a mistake. There are 'rebels' in the country, so you shouldn't organise anything there. If other countries are coming in and they are not secure and not safe, then you can't play. So for me I think it was a mistake.”

The 27-year-old is also concerned for one of his team-mates. Fellow striker Pierre Webo is with the Cameroon squad. Otchico says he has been talking to his friend regularly and admits that Webo has expressed his concerns following Friday's events.

"Yes, I have been speaking to him and he even told me that he was a little scared, because he's going into the same country where one of his Togolese friends was shot. So he's afraid. But what can he do? He has no choice. He has to carry on playing because this is good for his career. Now that this has already happened we just have to turn the page and go ahead."

With the World Cup in South Africa looming just around the corner, Keita feels the events in Angola have given fuel to those opposed to a World Cup being organised in Africa on grounds of safety and security.

"Sure, Angola is not too far from South Africa. So with this kind of incident I think people who have been saying these things can now say that this is all true.

"They can say: 'You see, we always said this and now look this has happened.' They can say the distance from Angola to South Africa is very short and that maybe the 'rebel' guys can also come into South Africa. But, as I said before, we just have turn the page and keep going ahead."