The diamond trade

The diamonds from areas controlled by forces opposed to legitimate and recognized governments and are used to fund military action in opposition to the government While some of the money from the diamond trade is used to support operations (military operations . insurgencies, terrorist operations), a substantial amount of the benefits go to the bank accounts of transnational criminals to corrupt government officials, rebels and a number of other actors. ? Africa has paid a high price for the diamond wars and crime and the desire to support them. Millions of Africans died in conflict diamonds and millions displaced. But trade extends dirty - far beyond the coast of? Africa. There is strong evidence that Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah have raised millions of dollars in illicit diamonds through connections of Lebanon in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Diamonds are a good way to terrorist groups, it is easy to change money, and are difficult to detect by the organizations responsible for enforcing the law. The exploitation of other natural resources like gold, uranium, copper, cobalt, bauxite, and timber is another transnational crime that has perpetuated the conflict in several states? Africa, mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The funds of these natural resources fill the pockets of the hungry and fund terrorist acts. Few in the Democratic Republic of Congo remain outside the hostilities and damage the environment. In? Africa, the bloody wars for the purchase of diamonds and other natural resources seem to have great importance for military security and U.S. national In fact, the opposite is true. Transnational crime, violence and conflict? Africa threatens stability throughout the continent and, eventually, economic and military consequences for the world in general. In the aspect of political and economic crime? Africa, social ills are enormous and transnational them worse. During a visit to four countries? West Africa, British Prime Minister emphasized the need for developed countries to invest in security and economic prosperity of democracies? Africa. Illicit drugs, terrorism, extremism emanating from failed states, dictatorships, ending the conflict and chaos in areas rich in minerals and diamonds? Africa is a magnet for predators, terrorists and other transnational criminal .

The U.S. intervention in ending terrorism against citizens and interests? Africa may be in the same way in Afghanistan. Just as terrorist groups find refuge in Somalia and Sudan, these groups may migrate to other states in Africa. Rebels in Sierra Leone, combatants in Liberia and Burkina Faso's mercenaries have launched attacks in Sierra Leone to overthrow the government. The rebel group, known as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), began a campaign of death and destruction against innocent civilians. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled to neighboring countries and thousands of children were abducted and forced to serve as soldiers. The RUF led to the torture, killings, mutilations and other atrocities, as a way to undermine confidence in government. Within a year, the RUF had taken control of the major diamond mines in the southeast. Like many insurgent groups, the conflict in Sierra Leone was proclaimed as a rebellion to end a corrupt regime. The movement became a self-sustaining criminal situation. The leaders of the RUF diamonds have enriched and allow trade in weapons and equipment during the Civil War.

In March 1995, RUF forces captured most of the mines in the country, but the army of Sierra Leone was able to stop moving forward and keep the capital with the assistance of peace in Nigeria and Ghana. The Revolutionary United Front signed a peace agreement with the government in November 1996. The dissident military overthrew the government in 1997 and formed an alliance with the RUF. Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Ghana and - members of the Economic Community of States? African States (ECOWAS) - the diplomatic opening to end the conflict. The United Nations has supported the nonviolent approach and monitoring the transfer of prohibited weapons to Sierra Leone. Impatient with the pace of negotiations, Nigeria was a good backlash in February 1998 and the Security Council established the Mission of Observers United Nations United Nations in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). The following year, the RUF in Lome and the government signed a peace agreement. However, the RUF soon violated several terms of the agreement. The armed rebel group remained and continued their struggle for control of diamonds.

Until the early months of 2000, violent clashes with government troops and atrocities against civilians were on the rise. In addition, the RUF taken hostage several hundred peacekeepers. In May 2000, the United Kingdom highlighted the troops to Sierra Leone to restore order in Freetown and evacuate its citizens and other foreigners. Although the safety of British citizens and foreigners have been the main reason for military intervention of Great Britain, the historical links with the former colony has helped stabilize the country and initiated a training program for police and indigenous military forces. The U.S. supported peace efforts with the United Nations by sending military equipment and Special Forces teams and trainers to Nigeria and Ghana. This initiative, relief operation, the capacity of Nigeria and Ghana, to secure peace, to disarm rebel forces, and facilitate the repatriation of refugees. In September 2001, the rebels agreed to a ceasefire, but a lasting peace away. The national government leadership changed five times in the last 11 years.

As in the Balkans, the peace ended a violent conflict, but a long-term peace based on the rule of law, is far away. The recent political and ethnic conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo dates back to 1994, when fighting in neighboring Rwanda and Burundi has forced hundreds of thousands of refugees in Zaire. The new demography of eastern Congo has contributed to the ethnic strife. A civil war broke out in less than a year 1996.Em, the rebel movement supported by Angola, Rwanda, Uganda and overthrew the government in power and realign the distribution of natural resources in the country after foreign troops to establish a position firm in the DRE, we took advantage of the weakness of the Congolese government and consolidated their control over mineral deposits and other resources. In August 1998 - Congolese militants backed by Rwanda and Uganda, has plunged the country into another civil war. Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Sudan and responded to the crisis by helping troops and the Democratic Republic of Congo. To further complicate the conflict, was the presence of rebels from Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.

These groups, operating from bases in eastern Congo, often target civilians and government forces in their respective countries. A report by Human Rights Watch concluded that the rebels and government forces are responsible for thousands of civilians killed, raped, tortured and kidnapped. The President of Zambia tried to end the bloodshed in 1999, when he invited the chief combatants in the war to a peace conference in Lusaka, Zambia. The Lusaka Agreement called for an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of foreign troops, except for peace and a force of peacekeepers from more than 5,500 UN troops. Rwanda and Uganda remained in some parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect its population from attacks by the guerrillas, but also, and perhaps the most important motivation for occupation was the control of minerals, agriculture and wood the country. A report by the UN in April 2001 reported that the DRC was "a victim of mass killings and the looting and systemic exploitation of natural resources."

The report said that military commanders from various countries for different reasons, continues to need this conflict for its lucrative nature and for temporarily solving some internal problems in those countries as well as allowing access to wealth. They realized that the war has the ability to sustain itself, and so have created and protected from criminal networks can become a full participant in all foreign armies decide to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo. In February 2002, armed fighters have not met all the requirements specified in the Lusaka Agreement. Uganda and Rwanda continue to occupy the eastern Congo and violent clashes between different armed groups have increased in recent months. Less than 4,000 peacekeepers are on the ground and thousands more are needed. With so many corrupt criminal elements and the plundering of natural resources benefit the Democratic Republic of Congo, the economic incentive to keep the conflict and chaos is greater than the desire to establish the rule of law and peacekeeping. Violence and anarchy in the Democratic Republic of Congo are threatening the stability of at least ten countries that share a common border with the giant nation.