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 ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - Smugglers in war-divided Ivory Coast are violating a United Nations-imposed ban on diamond sales, illegally exporting the gems to neighboring countries for overseas sales, according to a draft U.N. report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.
The illegal trade in "conflict diamonds" has long fueled African wars and the U.N. Security Council imposed the diamond embargo on Ivory Coast in a bid to keep rebels in the turbulent country from profiting from the gems.
The draft report, which has not yet been published, says $9 million to $24 million worth of diamonds mined in the rebel-held north of the West African country are being sold on the international market each year via brokers in Ghana and Mali.
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