Johannesburg — WANTED Democratic Republic of Congo former vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba was to seek medical treatment in Portugal, sources said yesterday.

Bemba, who took refuge at the South African embassy in the capital, Kinshasa, last week after his guards clashed with the government forces of President Joseph Kabila, faces charges of treason.

It was unclear why he would need treatment abroad. The BBC's news website said there was speculation that the trip, construed as a mercy flight, may be used as a diplomatic manoeuvre to ease tension.

The recent fighting threatened to derail the peace process that led to recent polls. The fighting left between 200 and 500 dead, many of them civilians, according to a revised toll presented by the German ambassador.

Kabila left for an extraordinary summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, yesterday.

Calm was slowly returning to Kinshasa though the city remained tense following last week's events. Heavily armed soldiers patrolled the main arteries of the city and were a testimony to Kabila's pledge to restore order "at all costs".

A member of the diplomatic personnel told Business Day on condition of anonymity that clashes between Bemba's and Kabila's troops had been the fiercest of all the past encounters between them.

He also said that as Bemba's soldiers fled they had left some weapons with Kinshasa's many street children. Government troops were searching for those weapons and possible arm caches, he said.

A witness in Gombe district, where Bemba had his headquarters, accused Kabila's soldiers of taking the opportunity presented by operation "Restore Order" to loot houses temporarily vacated.

"Bemba's residence was entirely looted and some of his security guards were shot down without summon."

A member of a prominent business law firm in Kinshasa said the recent bloody events might have a negative impact on investors.

"The mood was bullish but now we might well be back to square one," he said.