Sierra Leone's diamond exports reached a new high in July, according to an official from the impoverished African country's mineral resources ministry.

Almost $5m (�3.23m) worth of gems were shipped out of the country during the month, the official said.

"The value represents a new record in the export of diamonds from Sierra Leone since the certificate scheme started in October 2000," the ministry's official, Abu Bakarr, said.

The scheme banned the export of so-called "blood diamonds", or illegal gems which were sold to help finance arms purchases for the rebels during the country's 10-year civil war.

Rising exports

The war officially came to an end in January this year, and legal exports of diamonds have risen since.

So far this year, Sierra Leone has exported $25m worth of diamonds.

That is almost as much as the total exports during 2001 as a whole when the country exported $26m worth of diamonds.