American Kidnaped by Angola Rebels
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LUANDA, Angola — A U.S. helicopter mechanic for a company contracted by Chevron Corp. was kidnaped by armed guerrillas in northern Angola, a government official said Saturday.
According to the official, mechanic Brent Swan and an Angolan colleague were abducted as they drove Friday to a heliport in Cabinda, an oil-rich province where separatist rebels have staged anti-government operations.
No group claimed responsibility for the kidnaping.
Gary Weber, a spokesman for Petroleum Helicopter Inc. in Lafayette, La., confirmed that Swan is an employee, but declined to discuss the incident.
It was not immediately possible to contact Cabinda Gulf, which contracts with Chevron in the southwest African nation to operate platforms in the Atlantic Ocean.
Last month, two Portuguese aid workers were kidnaped by a Cabinda separatist group linked to U.S.-backed rebels fighting the Angolan government.
The Portuguese government said the Front for the Liberation of Cabinda Enclave was holding the two in Zaire.
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