Army Pulls Out of Controversial Diamond Mine

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By Shamsydeen Badmus

Published: November 21, 2009

Army Pulls Out of Controversial Diamond Mine

By Shamsydeen Badmus

The Zimbabwean government says it is pulling its soldiers out of the Marange diamond mine following allegations of abuse. Earlier this month the Kimberley Process group, the diamond industry’s watchdog, urged Zimbabwe to reform its running of the diamond mine, giving it a June 2010 deadline. Human rights activists have called for Zimbabwe to be suspended from the group, claiming troops had killed 200 people at the diamond field. Activists accuse soldiers of widespread atrocities and claim that profits from the stones go to President Robert Mugabe and his cronies. Despite finding evidence of killings and forced evictions, the Kimberley Process group stopped short of suspending Zimbabwe. Instead it called for an independent inspector to monitor diamonds leaving the controversial fields.

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