MONROVIA, Liberia — Liberia has shipped its first consignment of diamonds since the lifting of U.N. sanctions that blocked the export of so-called blood diamonds used to fuel years of war, officials said yesterday.

A shipment valued at about $222,000 left Liberia last week, government spokesman Laurence Bropleh said. He declined to name the exporting company or give details on the shipment’s destination.

The Liberian government received a royalty of about $6,000 from the shipment, said Gabriel Williams, a deputy government spokesman.

“This amount may look small but we have to start from somewhere,” Mr. Williams said.

The precious gems were a major force in the cross-border conflict that ravaged Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone for more than a decade. A former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, has been accused of using diamond wealth to arm fighters known for hacking off people’s limbs and conscripting children.

Both Taylor’s forces and rebel fighters were charged with looting Liberia’s small diamond reserves to buy arms, along with smuggling gems from Sierra Leone’s more expansive diamond fields for export through Liberian ports.

The United Nations imposed sanctions on Liberia’s diamonds in May 2001 and, to comply with the sanctions, the Liberian government placed a moratorium on all mining.

Liberia finally emerged from its civil strife in 2003, with Mr. Taylor’s ouster.

The United Nations removed sanctions this April, citing Liberia’s efforts to provide controls and tracking of diamonds, and the Liberian government lifted its moratorium in late July.