Expulsion of illegal miners continues

Angolan security forces have detained and expelled around 240 illegal diamond workers in the latest phase of a crackdown on diamond traffickers, Angolan police said on Friday. "From 30 August until 6 September, we detained and expelled around 240 foreigners. They were working illegally in our diamond-rich areas and were from various countries," police spokesman Carmo Neto told IRIN. Gem-rich Angola is already believed to have expelled around 120,000 Congolese and 3,500 West Africans in a campaign to eliminate illegal diamond digging, known "Operation Brilliant", which began in December last year. Neto said five former Katangan rebels from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had been killed during armed clashes with police at diamond mining sites in Dundo in the northern province of Lunda Norte. "They were there illegally and they were threatening police, who had no choice but to fire," Neto said. The state-owned Jornal de Angola reported that authorities in the northeastern province of Zaire had repatriated 418 illegal diamond workers, mainly from the DRC, as part of the crackdown, which would continue until December. It quoted Tito Munana, the chief of police in Zaire province, as saying: "The authorities of the Republic of Angola are trying to exercise the right to sovereignty as well as maintain order in the country." Angola agreed to suspend the repatriation programme at the end of May after the DRC complained it was unable to cope with the influx. There were also reports of Angolan military agents sexually abusing women and girls on the pretext of searching for hidden diamonds. At the height of "Operation Brilliant" as many as 2,500 people a day were arriving in the DRC, mostly in areas where there was no food, water or shelter.