Army kicked out of Chiadzwa

State security units, including the Zimbabwe National Army, have been ordered to stop their diamond mining operations alongside other mining firms that have been operating in the Chiadzwa are.

Mines and Mining Development minister Walter Chidakwa said that the military had also been affected by the blanket ban on all firms operating in the area.

Chidakwa intimated there had been underhand dealings and looting by mining firms at Chiadzwa. Chidakwa warned there would a forensic audit and "whoever was responsible for any impropriety should take responsibility".

Diamond mining activist Farai Maguwu last year dared Chidakwa to "remove the army" from the Marange diamond fields, saying the country's service chiefs were involved "in plunder".