NATO Intensifies Bombing Campaign in Yugoslavia as Diplomacy Efforts Continue

Strategic Insights -

NATO jets unleashed a new wave of airstrikes against Yugoslavia today, targeting the headquarters of the Yugoslav army, the Interior Ministry, and a residential neighborhood in Belgrade. The attacks, which included a burst of missiles that missed their target and landed on houses, resulted in injuries to four people, including one woman. This latest escalation comes as a series of diplomatic efforts continue to resolve the crisis over Kosovo.

Key Takeaways:

  • NATO jets launched over 600 sorties in the previous 24 hours, the busiest period yet in the war over Kosovo, with a focus on army headquarters, Ministry of Defense buildings, and ammunition storage facilities.
  • The alliance's strongest attack so far on the capital took place just hours after Rev. Jesse Jackson arrived on an independent peace mission to win the release of three U.S. POWs held by Yugoslavia.
  • Special Russian envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin was expected to continue his diplomatic shuttle mission in Belgrade today, having met with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and urged Serbia to accept an unarmed international peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
  • NATO insists that Yugoslavia withdraw its forces from Kosovo and demands that the alliance play a leading role in an armed, military peacekeeping force, while Belgrade insists on an unarmed force and rejects the participation of countries involved in the NATO air campaign.
  • President Clinton will visit NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, next week to review the air war against Yugoslavia, meeting with NATO's supreme commander, Army Gen. Wesley Clark, and Secretary-General Javier Solana.
  • Despite the intensification of airstrikes, diplomatic efforts continue, with Rev. Jackson calling the bombing "intense" and urging a diplomatic breakthrough to resolve the crisis.

Statistics:

  • Over 600 sorties conducted by NATO jets in the previous 24 hours.
  • More than 600,000 ethnic Albanian refugees fleeing Kosovo since last month, with hundreds of thousands more homeless and displaced within the province.
  • 3 U.S. POWs held by Yugoslavia.
  • 6,000 refugees arrived in Macedonia on Thursday, with reports of Serb police or paramilitary units looting and burning homes.
  • 200 refugees crossed into Albania on Thursday, with reports of land mine victims, including a 2-year-old boy, treated by doctors.

Sources:

  • NATO spokesman Jamie Shea
  • Brig. Gen. Giuseppe Marani, NATO military commander
  • Rev. Jesse Jackson
  • Viktor Chernomyrdin, special Russian envoy
  • German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
  • Vice President Al Gore
  • President Clinton
  • State-run Tanjug news agency
  • Radio Novosti