According to a diamond industry analyst, it is “highly probable” that the Angolan rebel movement UNITA has opened a new diamond smuggling route through the eastern DRC town of Kisangani. Christine Gordon, a London-based analyst, told IRIN today that “Papa” Philippe Surowicke, the chief diamond buyer of the Belgian company Glasol, opened an office in Kisangani in November. Surowicke is UNITA’s “favourite diamond dealer” with long-standing links to the rebel movement, Gordon said. She added that the RCD rebels are also marketing diamonds internationally from the 200 small mines in the Kisangani area
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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