Angolan Forces Arrest More Than 3,000 Diamond Traffickers

A large-scale operation by Angolan security forces against illegal diamond traffickers in the south of the country has led to the arrest of more than 3,000 people in recent days.

The Angolan army said around 50 foreigners and almost 3,000 Angolans were arrested.

The Angolans have been sent home while the foreigners are awaiting expulsion to their home countries. Most of the foreigners are from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Thousands of illegal diamond traffickers have been expelled in widespread operations since December.

Security forces have destroyed miners' huts, confiscated firearms and equipment including generators, sieves, scales and satellite telephones.

The Angolan government justifies its operations by saying that since the end of the 27-year civil war in 2002, tens of thousands of foreigners have entered the country to traffic in diamonds.

As part of the measures, the country is also establishing a cordon that will be patrolled by 4,000 specially trained boarder guards.

The actions have led to charges from human rights groups that Angola is acting barbarically against those it has expelled.

Angola Interior Minister Osvaldo Serra Van-Dunem admitted in February that "excesses" had been committed by security forces in expelling foreign diamond traffickers.

Angola has defended the actions, saying they are vital to defending its economy which depends heavily on diamond exports.

The government has said that of approximately 290,000 diamond traffickers in Angola, 90,000 are foreigners, mostly from the DRC, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone.