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 MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) - Liberia's president formally opened 10 diamond screening and evaluation offices across the country on Tuesday, marking the first step toward restarting the industry following the end of a six-year ban by the United Nations.
The ban on Liberian diamonds, imposed in 2001 when so-called "blood diamonds" were being used to fuel civil wars in west Africa, was lifted by the United Nations three days ago. The U.N. cited steps taken by the country toward joining an international program to certify the diamonds' origin and ensure they were mined legally.
At a ceremony in the northwestern town of Tubmanburg on Tuesday, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf urged Liberians to keep the sanctions lifted by embracing the international certification system, called the Kimberley Process. Group members agree to trade only certified diamonds.
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