By Ebow Godwin BBC Sport, Lome

The decision to ban Togo sparked protests on the streets of Lome

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed that it will arbitrate over Togo's ban from the next two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

The ban was imposed after Togo pulled out of the recent tournament in Angola.

Their withdrawal came in the wake of the fatal gun attack in which two members of the Togo party were killed.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) say the Togolese Prime Minister's insistence that the team came home amounted to 'government interference'.

The court has asked Caf for a written report to express its position on Togo's request to put any sanctions on hold while the case is heard.

This would allow the Hawks to be included in Saturday's draw for the 2012 Nations Cup qualifying campaign.

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.

Two members of the Togolese party were killed in the attack

General Memene is also a vice-president of Caf but he denied that there was any conflict of interest in his position.

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

General Memene was appointed by football's world governing body Fifa in January to try and resolve the disputes which have divided the Togo Football Federation.

When they imposed the two tournament ban, Caf said the Togo players had wanted to continue playing in Angola, but were forced to return by their country's government.

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