Congo: Will Starvation and Violence ever End?

In the small village of Aveba in the mineral-rich Ituri district in eastern Congo, death and rape are no stangers. Rebels from Uganda, Rwanda and even the Congolese army itself loot these villages for all they're worth. And when there's nothing left in the village to steal or eat anymore, these militias and bandits remain in the countryside and prey upon aid convoys for food, medicine and money. These greedy militias have battled government troops over control of lucrative industries like diamond and copper mining, and the war has been going on since 1998! Are these rebel insurgencies ever going to end? When will the international community step in? The UN has recently put more 'blue helmets' into the Congo to stabilize the country for the up coming elections this July. But the UN peacekeeping forces cannot stay there forever. The former rebels and government soldiers fused into a national force under the Lusaka peace agreement of 1999, and has been anything but helpful. Congolese people cannot seem to over come the burden of tribalism, and its clashing with nationalism. The people of the DRC need a common cause to unite behind, like they could have in 1960 when it gained independence or in 1997 when the Mobutu regime was toppled. But these elections this July and the optimism of the Congo's President Joseph Kabila offer new hope, and a new cause to rally behind. What Laurent Kabila did not seem to understand, but ought to become crystal clear to Joseph Kabila, is that the current crisis of the state can be checked only with a legitimate and responsible government.