The Price Congo's Children are Paying

(09 Nov 08 - RV) Their church crammed with refugees, thousands of Congolese in the eastern town of Goma prayed outdoors for peace today, while Tutsi rebels battled government soldiers across North Kivu despite calls from a leaders summit in South Africa for a ceasefire.

The fighting is hampering aid workers' attempts to help tens of thousands of people who have fled two weeks of clashes that have sparked what the United Nations has called a humanitarian "catastrophe".

Judith Melby of Christian Aid’s East Africa office says villages are being looted for children to furnish the ranks of rebel forces.