Soldiers Mining Zimbabwe Diamond Fields

Soldiers sent by President Robert Mugabe to drive away illegal miners from Zimbabwe's Chiadzwa alluvial diamond sites, are now more than guards. They are managing forced labor mining the diamond pits, according to a recent report.

Villagers from Marange told IRIN that the army is forcing locals to mine the diamond rich area. “These soldiers who were deployed to remove the makorokoza [illegal miners] are now looting the diamonds, but they are doing so in such a way that it is difficult for outsiders to notice it,” a local resident told IRIN.

“They have a duty roster of villagers from Marange, who are supposed to report to them early in the morning to dig for the diamonds from Chiadzwa,” the villager added.

Zimbabwe, a country suffering from the world’s highest inflation rate and a cholera epidemic, has only one formal diamond mine despite being rich with minerals. The unstable political climate, coupled by rampant corruption, is keeping exploration companies away from the troubled African country.

In recent years, local illegal miners and many additional people from neighboring countries have been digging and selling rough diamonds in a couple of diamond rich regions in the country. These goods ultimately are smuggled out of Zimbabwe, finding their way into the legitimate trade.