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JOHANNESBURG (AP) - Investigators for the world's diamond control body say Zimbabwe should be suspended because its security forces are raping women, killing illegal miners and smuggling gems out of a diamond field in the troubled country's east.
Human rights groups have made similar accusations, but the charges carry particular weight coming from Kimberley Process investigators who visited Zimbabwe in June and July. Their recommendations are in a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press Wednesday.
Zimbabwean authorities have repeatedly denied such charges, including in statements to Kimberley Process investigators and officials. The investigators said they found evidence contradicting the official account, and that information provided by Zimbabwean authorities "was false, and likely intentionally so."
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