In 1966, the central government nationalized the "Union Minière du Haut Katanga", now known as "Gécamines". In 1971, Katanga was renamed Shaba, from the Swahili word for 'brass' (a borrowing from Arabic "shabah"). Throughout the 1970s, further insurrections like the 1977 Shaba I were put down by the government with help from foreign nations. On May 12, 1978, for example, rebels occupied the city of Kolwezi, the mining centre of the province. Zaire asked the United States, France, and Belgium to restore order. This resulted in 700 African and 170 European victims.