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HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's government on Thursday halted the sale of diamonds from its controversial Marange fields, saying the process would only go ahead under international supervision.

State media had earlier quoted the chairman of a joint venture firm set up by the government and two South African companies as saying diamond auctions would start on Thursday, but a senior government official said the announcement was premature.

"There was no auction today, no sale of diamonds," Thankful Musukutwa, permanent secretary in the mines ministry, told reporters.

"The government observes and is committed to the administrative decision of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme ... that all shipments from all production sites in the Marange area will be subject to examination and certification by a KPCS monitor."

Musukutwa said the government and the KPCS, which regulates the global diamond trade, were in the process of engaging a monitor to oversee the diamond sales.

"There will be no sales or exports of Marange diamonds until all government regulations and KPCS stipulations have been met."

Rights groups accuse security forces of committing widespread abuses to stop thousands of illegal diamond miners who descended upon the poorly secured fields in the eastern part of the country and have been pushing for a ban on Zimbabwean diamonds.