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Central African Republic: Diamond Wars

Central African Republic: Diamond Wars Clashes between rival groups vying for control of diamond mines left 30 dead and dozens wounded, a military official from the central town of Bria said on September 19th. The official said the fighting pits former rebels from the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity ( UFDR ) against the rebels of the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace ( CPJP ).The UFDR is dominated by the Ronga and the CPJP by the Goula, two rival ethnic groups who have feuded over the region’s diamond mines for years. Bria is the country’s main diamond mining hub and according to a report published in late 2010 by the International Crisis Group and entitled “Dangerous Little Stones”. The UFDR has signed a peace agreement and the CPJP a ceasefire but ICG said diamonds stoked a type of conflict that is best described as “banditry under a rebel flag”. “The government’s refusal to distribute national wealth fairly has led jealous individuals and disenfranchised groups to take up arms for a bigger slice of the cake,” the group said. “President Francois Bozize keeps tight control of the diamond sector to enrich and empower his own ethnic group but does little to alleviate the poverty that drives informal miners to dig in perilous conditions,” the report said. Industrial mining never took off in the impoverished country and most diamonds are extracted by an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 unlicensed miners equipped with picks and shovels. (AFP, Bangui 13,19/9 2011) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series Wiley

Central African Republic: Diamond Wars

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2011
ISSN
0001-9844
eISSN
1467-825X
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-825X.2011.04077.x
Publisher site
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Abstract

Clashes between rival groups vying for control of diamond mines left 30 dead and dozens wounded, a military official from the central town of Bria said on September 19th. The official said the fighting pits former rebels from the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity ( UFDR ) against the rebels of the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace ( CPJP ).The UFDR is dominated by the Ronga and the CPJP by the Goula, two rival ethnic groups who have feuded over the region’s diamond mines for years. Bria is the country’s main diamond mining hub and according to a report published in late 2010 by the International Crisis Group and entitled “Dangerous Little Stones”. The UFDR has signed a peace agreement and the CPJP a ceasefire but ICG said diamonds stoked a type of conflict that is best described as “banditry under a rebel flag”. “The government’s refusal to distribute national wealth fairly has led jealous individuals and disenfranchised groups to take up arms for a bigger slice of the cake,” the group said. “President Francois Bozize keeps tight control of the diamond sector to enrich and empower his own ethnic group but does little to alleviate the poverty that drives informal miners to dig in perilous conditions,” the report said. Industrial mining never took off in the impoverished country and most diamonds are extracted by an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 unlicensed miners equipped with picks and shovels. (AFP, Bangui 13,19/9 2011)

Journal

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series – Wiley

Published: Oct 1, 2011

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