Zimbabwe mines site of 'horrific violence'

HARARE, Zimbabwe, July 9 (UPI) -- Illegal diamond mining by Zimbabwean troops has led to violence against civilians, says a global watchdog formed to cut the flow of "blood diamonds."

The assessment from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme came days after a Human Rights Watch report accused Zimbabwe's armed forces of violently taking over eastern Zimbabwe's Marange district diamond fields and killing about 200 people since late last year.

Some victims of the clash were buried in mass graves, the report said.

The Kimberley Process assessment, included in a memo given to Zimbabwean officials, said Zimbabwe's military had been directly involved in illegal mining and authorities had carried out "horrific violence against civilians," The New York Times reported.

A man who pleaded not to be cited by name for fear he would be killed said he witnessed the burial of 85 people in a mass grave, the Times said.

Government officials, who have adamantly denied any state-sponsored violence in the diamond fields, told the government-owned Herald newspaper they would try to comply with the Kimberly Process before the team issued its final report.

The final report could include the full suspension of Zimbabwe from the process, further complicating the country's ability to sell its diamonds on international markets, the Times said.

The World Federation of Diamond Bourses already recommends its members in 20 countries not trade diamonds from the Marange deposits because of reports of abuses.

Blood diamonds -- also called conflict diamonds, hot diamonds or war diamonds -- refer to diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts or a warlord's activity.