Angola Travel Warning
Foreign nationals in the Angolan capital, Luanda, are being advised to take extra precautions after a recent spate of kidnappings. The crime wave has prompted the United States to issue a security warning, highlighting what its Embassy in Luanda calls “developing crime trends”.
In the past two months alone, Chinese, French, and Belgian nationals have been kidnapped by gunmen who demanded a ransom. The victims were released unharmed within a few days once the ransom was paid. The Angolan authorities suspect these crimes were all carried out by the same group and they have speculated that the recent murders of two Portuguese citizens may be linked to the kidnappings.
According to the US Embassy in Luanda, the incidents revealed so far include the March 30 interception of a Lebanese-Belgian citizen driving near his home in the city centre, forcibly abducted by armed men but later released on payment of an unspecified ransom. Then on April 18th three gunmen abducted two Chinese citizens from their vehicle in the suburb of Kilamba. And on April 20 a French citizen was kidnapped while being driven by his chauffeur near the Sogester dry port facility in Viana, on the outskirts of the city.