Zimbabwe began selling hundreds of thousands of carats of diamonds Wednesday evening, putting 900,000 carats of rough diamonds harvested from the controversial Marange diamond field on the auction block.

The auction grabbed world media attention, as the diamonds are believed harvested from an area plagued by human rights violations.

Human rights groups say soldiers killed 200 people, raped women and enslaved children in the area, for the purpose of diamond mining.

This was the first public sale of diamonds from the notorious diamond field, in eastern Zimbabwe, since sanctions to that effect were imposed on Harare, after the Kimberley Process found it had failed to comply with its directive.

This time, however, Kimberley Process Zimbabwe monitor Abbey Chikane, who is heading a mission currently in Zimbabwe, certified the diamonds were not "blood diamonds," thus ready for sale.

Heavily armed police and soldiers guarded top security vaults built at the main Harare airport, to where private jets shuttled buyers from Israel, India, Lebanon and Russia, Zimbabwe officials said.

No estimated value was given for the staggering amount of carats auctioned, but unofficial estimates range around $2 billion. Such revenue would provide a massive boost for Zimbabwe's ailing economy.

The eastern alluvial Marange diamond fields were discovered in 2006. It is believed to be able to meet one-fourth of the world's demand for diamonds.