Zimbabwe: Soldiers Loot Diamond Ore in Marange During the Internet Blackout

17 January 2019
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In Marange, 15 ZNA soldiers armed with AK 47 rifles and accompanied by a syndicate of 30 illegal diamond miners besieged Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) portal B at Mbada Hills and an area nicknamed Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) because of its rich diamond deposits around 12 midnight on 15 January 2019 and looted diamond ore that had been stockpiled there. The menacing soldiers held ZCDC guards on duty at gun point and tied their dogs together before setting their panning syndicate to fill up diamond ore in their sacks.

The reaction security team called upon to contain the situation stood aloof until the looting exercise was over. The same group made an attempt on the diamond vault at the main plant the following night of 16 January 2019 around 1am. Eye witness account reported that only 8 soldiers were in uniform and the rest were in civilian clothes but armed with AK rifles. After failing to break into the sorting room the syndicate numbering up to 50 went for the stockpiled diamond ore. These rogue elements of the army were caught on CCTV camera according to security sources at ZCDC. The guards eventually managed to apprehend about 10 panners and surrendered them to the police base at the mine.

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