Zimbabwe claims to be acting on illegal diamonds
Zimbabwe claims to be withdrawing soldiers from a diamond field after trade watchdog, the Kimberley Process group, alleged abuses were taking place there. Reports say Zimbabwean troops have killed some 200 people at the Marange field in the east of the country. The Kimberley Process regulates trade in “blood diamonds”. Activists accuse the soldiers of carrying out widespread atrocities at Marange and say the profits from the stones go to President Robert Mugabe and his allies. Scores of buyers and middlemen openly trade in Marange diamonds across the border in Mozambique, including Lebanese, Belgians, South Africans and Indians who sell the diamonds on the international market. Read more: BBC, ReliefWeb
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