Gold, diamonds fuel religious violence in Central African Republic
It has been revealed that proceeds from gold and diamond mining in the Central African Republic are being used to fuel that country's horrific warfare between rival Christian and Muslim groups.
Reuters reports that Seleka rebels, Muslims mostly from Chad and Sudan, control a gold mine owned by the Canadian firm Axmin. For a cut of the proceeds, they allow illegal miners to try their luck in the vast mine. Similar scenes play out at diamond and gold mines controlled by both Muslim and Christian forces through out the country.
Axmin suspended its own operations at the mine after fighters overran it in 2012.
Seleka troops control the mine despite the presence of thousands of French and African troops in the country who have supposedly been sent to help prevent violence and provide security.
The violence in CAR grew so bad that the capital of Bangui saw the torture and cannibalization of Muslims by Christians. These incidents prompted fears of genocide, and the deployment of 2,000 French troops. The United Nations has also agreed to send 12,000 troops to help secure CAR. The first members of that deployment will begin to arrive in September.
Reuters says that both Christian and Muslim militias are involved in the diamond and gold trades. There is a fear that despite a recently signed ceasefire, both groups would resist any effort by the international community to reassert control over the mines.
Before the war, CAR was one of the world's largest diamond exporters, ranking 12th internationally. The country's diamond fields have also bore witness to some of the conflict's fiercest fighting.
Although an international diamond trade group with 81 countries has banned the purchase of diamonds from CAR, they still make their way out of the country through an elaborate network of smugglers.
In addition to the militias' resistance to giving up a steady stream of income, the international community must also deal with the tension that would arise from preventing thousands of people from working in an area starved of economic opportunity.
