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The
conflict has displaced millions of people from their homes AFP
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Illicit trafficking of
diamonds from the Central African Republic (CAR) into neighbouring Cameroon and
Chad is fuelling the continuation of a nearly three-year conflict, a leaked
report by a UN panel of experts says. It says 140,000 carats of diamonds, worth US$24m
(£16m), have been smuggled out of the country since May 2013 when the country
was banned from exporting raw gems.
The
panel recommends that regulation on diamond trading be strengthened in CAR,
with a suspension of diamond-trading houses that purchase the gems from areas
"under direct or indirect control of armed groups".
CAR
descended into chaos in March 2013 when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels
seized power, triggering reprisals by anti-balaka Christian militias. Although rival armed groups
agreed to a peace accord in May, the conflict has continued at a lower
intensity.
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