HRW Accuses ZANU-PF of Diamond Field Abuses

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Zimbabwe's armed forces, under the control of President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF, of torture and forced labour in the eastern Marange diamond fields.

In a new 62-page report that documents the killing of more than 200 people by the army in a takeover of the eastern fields last year, the organisation says it believes that the illegal diamond trade is a likely revenue source for senior ZANU-PF officials.

HRW’s Africa director, Georgette Gagnon, points out that, “The police and army have turned this peaceful area into a nightmare of lawlessness and horrific violence." She says that some income from the field has been funnelled to high-level party members of ZANU-PF, which is now part of a power-sharing government that urgently needs revenue as the country faces a dire economic crisis."

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