The story came a week after a rights group alleged that the military was committing killings and abuses in the area.

The move appeared to be an attempt to defuse criticism over the military's takeover of the Marange diamond fields and ensure that Zimbabwe's precious stones won't be tainted with the "blood diamond" label by activists, which would reduce their value.

The Ministry of Mines denied last month's report by Human Rights Watch that said troops had killed more than 200 people at the Marange diamond fields while forcing children to search for diamonds and beating villagers who got in the way.

Instead, Zimbabwe's coalition government said the military was there to secure the area, about 150 miles east of Harare, where mining is managed by the state's Mining Development Corp.

The 140,000-acre Marange diamond fields were discovered in 2006 - at the height of Zimbabwe's political, economic and humanitarian crisis. Villagers rushed to the area and began finding diamonds close to the surface.

The army took over the Marange diamond fields in late October 2008. Before that, the police were in control and Human Rights Watch said there were fewer abuses then.

Officials of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme - the world's diamond control body - recently visited the fields following allegations that security chiefs and loyalists of President Robert Mugabe were perpetrating or tolerating rights abuses and illegal diamond exports.

Mines Minister Obert Mpofu on Saturday told Kimberley inspectors that the troops would be withdrawn from the diamond fields and the country would meet international mining standards, the state-run Sunday Mail reported.

It is estimated the diamonds could be worth $200 million a month to the cash-strapped southern African nation, which is desperately trying to raise international aid to kickstart the economy. But the unity government has also been under foreign pressure to show signs of reform.

Human Rights Watch also alleged that some of the income from the diamond fields went to officials of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, long accused of trampling on human rights and democracy in Zimbabwe. *