Six Diamond Diggers Shot to Death at Miba in DRC

Six illegal diamond diggers were shot dead at Miba diamond mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week. The diamond workers' union has blamed armed guard for the deaths.

According to a BBC report, the night time shoot-out occurred between two groups of guards – former policemen and soldiers known as ‘suicidaires’ (suicidals) – who were fighting over a diamond deposit. However, a union official said those killed were unarmed miners.

Miba is DRC’s main diamond mine, producing $6-8 million worth of diamonds monthly. Israeli rough diamond trader Dan Gertler holds a stake in the diamond mine as well as export rights from the DRC.

Deaths and violence around the diamond mines in the region are widespread. According to the BBC report, an average of four or five miners are killed weekly. Last October, the United Nations said it was investigating reports of gang wars between rival diamond thieves on the diamond mine grounds in southern DRC, which claimed the lives of at least 13 people. Some of the gangs were made up of suicidaires.

Miba manager Gustave Luabeya told the BBC that 300 armed policemen and 1,000 unarmed private guards are not enough to prevent the clandestine miners from accessing the mine. He insisted that none of the guards were involved in last week’s incident.