Togo will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after they were banned from the next two African Nations Cups having pulled out of the tournament in Angola.

GettyImagesThe Togo bus leaves for the airport.

Togo were told to return to their own country by their Prime Minister after a machine gun attack on their bus saw two members of the party killed. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) though, saw fit to ban them from the competition, citing 'government interference' as their reason.

''The Togolese government have appealed to CAS against CAF's decision to suspend the team from the next two tournaments,'' sports minister Christophe Tchao told reporters.

The head of the interim committee running Togolese football, General Seyi Memene, said that a panel of lawyers had been appointed to deal with the case - headed by the president of the Togolese Bar Association. Memene is also a vice-president of CAF, but denied there was a conflict of interest.

"First of all I am Togolese, so I pray to God that this sanction is lifted," he said.

The Togo Football Federation was also fined $50,000 (£32,000) for their withdrawal, while both CAF and FIFA have come under intense pressure to lift the ban from the international community.