The United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate of a team of experts monitoring a ban imposed on the Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) concerning its trade of rough diamonds for arms.%%The panel's activity was extended until October 31, 2007 and follows a previous extension of the ban itself until the same date. The council requested the panel of experts to report on the implementation of the trade ban before October 15.%%
The sanctions were implemented in 2004 and are aimed at stemming the civil conflict in the Cote d'Ivoire, which is divided into rebel-held northern and the government-controlled southern zones. %%According to the World Diamond Council, the country is the only source of conflict diamonds in the global market today, estimated at between $9 and $23 million worth of diamonds annually fueling internal conflict in the country.
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