Starving Children Show War’s Hidden Toll

Parents reaching a front-line hospital in Congo with stick-thin children in their arms told of countless civilians succumbing to disease and hunger in burned, looted villages cut off in Congo, the region hit hardest by a 2 1/2-year war that has involved six nations.

The hospital at Kabinda--where 185 emaciated children lay on and under the 60 beds--provided a first look at the war’s hidden toll. Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia have also been involved in the conflict.

Now that a cease-fire has begun to take hold, Rwanda-backed rebels have withdrawn from land around Kabinda and civilians are trickling in to the hospital from the countryside.