NATO Intensifies Bombardment of Belgrade and Yugoslav Territory

Strategic Insights -

NATO warplanes launched a fierce onslaught against Belgrade and surrounding areas, with powerful explosions reported in the city's New Belgrade area and southern district of Rakovica. The state-run Tanjug news agency cited reports of a ministry building hit in New Belgrade, which coordinates imports and exports of weapons, but the missiles failed to explode. NATO has acknowledged targeting the ministry in a previous strike, which led to the destruction of the Chinese Embassy on May 7. Local media reported casualties, including two children and a woman killed in Ralja, 18 miles south of Belgrade, and several injured.

Key Takeaways:

  • 53 missiles were reported to have hit Belgrade and surrounding areas overnight in one of the fiercest NATO attacks since the bombing started on March 24.
  • Two children and a woman were killed, and several people were injured in Ralja when a missile struck residential buildings.
  • Three people were killed and two injured in Kosovo's Kosovska Vitina area southeast of Pristina, Kosovo's provincial capital, according to Tanjug.
  • The Batajnica military airport northwest of Belgrade was reportedly targeted, with exceptionally strong explosions and visible flashes audible from central Belgrade.
  • An industrial zone in Nis, Yugoslavia's third-largest city, and a communication tower near Novi Sad in the north of the country were also reportedly targeted.
  • Russian special envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin was to return to Yugoslavia after marathon talks with U.S. and European representatives.
  • Chernomyrdin's visit aims to secure a political solution to the Kosovo crisis, but Russia's efforts have been met with little progress.
  • Serbia's Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic rejected the deployment of foreign troops in Kosovo, calling for a halt to NATO aggression and a creation of conditions for a political solution.
  • Over 840,000 people have fled Kosovo since March 24, with no clear reason for the sudden slowdown in refugee flows.

Statistics:

  • 53 missiles reportedly hit Belgrade and surrounding areas overnight.
  • 2 children and 1 woman were killed in Ralja, 18 miles south of Belgrade, and several people were injured.
  • 3 people were killed and 2 injured in Kosovska Vitina area southeast of Pristina, Kosovo's provincial capital, according to Tanjug.
  • Over 840,000 people have fled Kosovo since March 24.
  • Over 90% of Kosovo's pre-war population were ethnic Albanians, with the majority having fled the region since the NATO air campaign began.
  • 6,000 to 8,000 ethnic Albanians fled to Macedonia daily for four days, but the flow has suddenly slowed to a trickle, with only about 60 arrivals on Wednesday.

Sources:

  • Tanjug news agency
  • Studio B television
  • Serbian media reports
  • U.N. aid officials