The Rwanda and Congolese presidents have agreed to attend a regional summit to try to resolve the crisis in the Democratic Republic Of Congo, which has displaced up to a quarter of a million people. Rwanda's Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Joseph Kabila agreed to the summit after talks with a senior EU official. French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner and UK foreign secretary David Miliband are due to meet the two men. The Red Cross says the situation in North Kivu province is now catastrophic in the wake of fierce fighting between government troops and rebel forces. Tens of thousands of people have been streaming into city of Goma, but with some agencies suspending their work, there is little food or medical help available.

Africa is a huge continent with countries with diverse ideologies and tribal influences. It’s time they looked after their own problems without depending on countries outside their Continent. There is an important decision to make before that––whether they want guns to kill each other or food to feed the starving people. The world has always positively responded to the SOS frequently coming from this Continent. Trillions of dollars have been given as aid but African governments have miserably failed to make use of them. Most of these funds have not been accounted for. Corruption is rampant in most of the countries.

The mad scramble for food we seen on TV is heart rending. There are helpless children being trampled by the elders and parents totally ignoring their own children and running to grab whatever food or drinks offered. One couldn’t believe deep rooted tribal differences could cause such havoc.