For thousands of years, diamonds have been an internationally recognized symbol of love, romance and marriage. However, a portion of the world's diamonds come from areas where war and bloodshed are an everyday occurrence. In some countries, rebel groups use the profits made from the sale of diamonds to buy weapons for their military operations. In this paper, I will introduce you to "conflict" or "blood" diamonds and the rebel groups that mine them. I will also look at the horrific infringements on basic human rights that these groups commit on a normal basis.
             By definition, conflict diamonds are diamonds that originate from mines that are under the control of rebel groups who are fighting against their country's government. Sierra Leone, a small country on the west coast of Africa, has for the last ten years been under the terror of an ever-present civil war. This war is being fought between a rebel group known as the Revolutionary United Front and Sierra Leone's present government. The RUF took control of some of Sierra Leone's richest diamond mines in the mid-nineties. They now use the profits they make from these diamonds to buy weapons for their army, made up mostly of young boys forced to conscript. (United Nations: Conflict Diamonds) The Revolutionary United Front use many different and violent to inflict terror on the innocent people of Sierra Leone. These tactics include kidnapping, rape, torture, and executions. Most of all, the RUF is known for amputating the hand, arms, feet, or legs of people in the districts it controls (Amnesty International). In many instances, they get innocent women, children, and old men to line up and stick out their hands, then they cut off the people's hands using machetes, they use it to instill fear in the hearts of civilians (National Geographic). These brutal and heartless techniques clearly violate the international code of human rights. The bottom line is, these groups would not b...