Return of clash eludes hope of peace and prosperity in ravaged Congo

It never sounds true that war-ravaged Congo is stabilizing. The power of the bullet still beat the power of ballot in DRC.

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Is it too much to ask for a moment of clarity, peace and sanity in this blood soaked land?

After the brunt of Congo's civil war it now experience flare-ups of political unrest. The regrettable clashes between government troops and fighters loyal to ex-rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba in the capital, Kinshasa left at least 600 people dead in the past week.

It was expected after the momentous election in 2006 that it would turn the page on decades of misery and misrule in Congo but the shaky government has struggled to quell armed groups which bring anarchy and terror to civilians.

Four years after a peace agreement brought an end to the conflict in DRC, residents still face considerable humanitarian challenges. The World Bank board however approved $180 million to help rebuild the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, despite recent deadly violence.

As to this point, remembering a dialogue from the movie 'Blood Diamond' in a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio who is playing Danny Archer, a diamond smuggler, scoffs and says something like 'You Americans, you come with your miniature bottles of hand sanitizer and your month's supply of malaria medicine and you think you can save Africa.'

Because it is not easy to save Africa and not easy to bring peace as true peace means abandoning the weapons and that must be followed by development in order to keep the people away from anti-social behavior. The main stumbling block to peace here is the question of disarmament with rebels refusing to lay down their arms until pro-government militias disarm.

Under fire, often from their own national army, these poor people seek safety and refuge in neighboring countries on foot, without clothing or food. There's still a need to protect the civilian population in the DRC, where pillaging and extortion are ongoing. This country's success depends largely on filling this void, one to which Congolese government in Kinshasa should confidently return.