Nato on Brink of Authorizing Military Action Against Serbia

Strategic Insights -

As the Kosovo crisis deepened, the United Nations condemned recent massacres of ethnic Albanians, but had not endorsed air strikes. However, the Clinton administration believed it did not need a new UN resolution for the attacks. British Defence Secretary George Robertson warned that military action would be inevitable if Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic failed to back down, while Foreign Secretary Robin Cook briefed Prime Minister Tony Blair in Downing Street, stating that the credibility of Nato and the United Nations was at stake.

Key Takeaways:

  • Six American B52 bombers were on standby at Fairford airfield in Gloucestershire, ready to launch Nato air strikes against Serbia if President Slobodan Milosevic ignores a "final countdown" over the Kosovo crisis.
  • Talks in Belgrade between Milosevic and US envoy Richard Holbrooke ended with no sign of a change in the Yugoslav leader's hardline stance, with Holbrooke describing the talks as "intense indeed and at times very heated."
  • British Defence Secretary George Robertson warned that military action would be inevitable if Milosevic failed to back down, stating that Kosovo was facing a "humanitarian catastrophe" as winter draws in.
  • Reports suggested air strikes could be launched by the middle of this week, with 260 aircraft at readiness to carry out the attacks.
  • The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has appealed for Western governments to keep their borders open to Kosovan refugees, with the situation being "too unstable and too insecure" to send refugees back to Kosovo now.
  • The major obstacle to an agreement between Holbrooke and Milosevic appeared to be Serbian opposition to an expanded international monitoring mission which would ensure the Serbs were abiding by UN demands.
  • Lyndall Sachs of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees stated that the humanitarian consequences of a political crisis desperately needed a solution, and that one must come quickly with winter just around the corner.

Statistics:

  • 50,000 ethnic Albanian civilians are living rough after fleeing their homes in Kosovo.
  • Upwards of 300,000 people have fled their homes during the conflict in Kosovo.
  • 260 aircraft, including six American B52 bombers, are at readiness to carry out air strikes against Serbia if authorized by Nato.
  • Reports suggest air strikes could be launched by the middle of this week.
  • Lyndall Sachs stated that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees has been assisting thousands of refugees in need of aid, shelter, and food.

Sources:

  • Reuters
  • Associated Press
  • Agence France-Presse
  • British Ministry of Defence