Similar to Sierra Leone, Civil war began 1975 when colonial power Portugal granted independence. After the cold war ended U.S. and Russian aid stopped both sides were stripped of funds. The government relied on oil and the rebel force UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) relied on diamonds. In 1992 UNITA seized 60-70% of Angola’s diamond mines. During the 1990’s over 3.7 billion dollars went through UNITA. In 1998 the U.N. Security Council banned export/trade of Angola diamonds not certified by its government. This stopped some flow of illegal diamonds but was not enough.
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