afrol News, 19 May - The Angolan government has beefed up security along its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo to block hundreds of diamond smugglers entering the country, Security officials have confirmed.

A senior official said the Angolan government has allocated $13 million to increase military patrols on the border and to stop illegal immigrants from Senegal and other mineral rich countries from breaking through into Uganda.

Angola, like many African countries, is battling to keep its mineral resources from being taken out of the country in order to enjoy the revenues they provide.

Last week, Angola’s immigration office reported that over 62,000 illegal immigrants had been deported from Angola's eastern diamond provinces of Malange, the Lundas and Moxico.

Although the government did not specify whether they were diamond smugglers, the neighbours had been at each others necks over trespassing along their border by smugglers.

A number of African states like Sierra Leone had experienced civil conflict with ‘blood diamonds’ being smuggled abroad in exchange for arms and to finance armed conflict in the west African state.

Angola emerged from an almost three-decade long civil war in 2002 to become the world's fifth biggest diamond producer, which allows only companies that partner with state-run firm Endiama to explore for diamonds in a bid to halt illegal diamond smuggling.

By staff writer

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