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Secret Airstrip Uncovered in Zimbabwe's Marange Region

A mile-long runway is being built in Zimbabwe's controversial Marange diamond field, according to a report published by The Telegraph Sunday. Construction of the airstrip raises speculations that the runway will be used to smuggle locally mined rough diamonds out of the region.

The airstrip is not the only one in the area, however it is wider and longer than the existing ones, possibly to allow larger planes to land by the diamond fields. The newspaper speculated that the airstrip will be used for offloading arms from China, which are to be paid for with diamonds, but did not provide any sources to back its arms-for-diamonds theory.

Aerial pictures published in The Telegraph show that construction work is well under way, with a newly built control tower apparently complete and the runway nearly ready for surfacing. The images also depict a tented army camp in the diamond fields, a violation of Zimbabwean court orders and of the Kimberley Process (KP).

The KP has been urged to suspend Zimbabwe over the many reported acts of violence at the mines. At a meeting in Namibia in November, the KP decided to give Zimbabwe until June to implement a working plan that will bring it back into compliance.

According to human rights groups, some 200 independent miners were killed when soldiers seized control of the Chiadzwa area in November 2008.