NATO Rejects Yugoslav Cease-Fire, Awaits Self-Rule Conditions

Strategic Insights -

In a swift rejection of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's declaration of a cease-fire, President Clinton insisted on NATO's four conditions for halting the bombing campaign: complete withdrawal of Serb military police and paramilitary forces, return of all refugees to Kosovo, use of NATO-led forces to protect both ethnic Albanians and Serbs, and a move toward a political framework based on the accords reached in France. Clinton again dismissed the declaration as insufficient, stating that it fell far short of NATO's requirements. The rejection came as the Pentagon released its most comprehensive estimates of damage after 13 days of NATO bombing, indicating that the most significant impact has been in shutting down some fuel supplies for Serb troops in Kosovo.

Key Takeaways:

  • President Clinton rejected the Yugoslav cease-fire proposal, citing four conditions for halting the bombing campaign: complete withdrawal of Serb military police and paramilitary forces, return of all refugees to Kosovo, use of NATO-led forces to protect both ethnic Albanians and Serbs, and a move toward a political framework based on the accords reached in France.
  • The rejection came after the Pentagon released its most comprehensive estimates of damage, showing the most significant impact has been in shutting down some fuel supplies for Serb troops in Kosovo.
  • The estimates indicate that NATO's air campaign has fallen short of its pre-conflict blueprint, with the primary problem being the dispersal of Yugoslav troops, making them more difficult to hit.
  • NATO has destroyed five bridges and targeted 30 air strikes on fuel supplies and ammunition storage facilities, with the most damaged fuel facilities supplying the Yugoslav 3rd Army.
  • Defense officials acknowledged that a U.S. fighter pilot accidentally dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb on an apartment building in Aleksinac, killing at least two civilians.
  • Smoke from NATO air strikes drifted over Belgrade, disrupting flights and stranding hundreds of passengers at the airport.
  • Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia will likely meet in Brussels within a few days to assess the NATO campaign.

Statistics:

  • 13 days of NATO bombing
  • 20,000 Kosovar refugees temporarily relocated to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
  • 18 months of temporary protective status given to Kosovar refugees
  • Up to 6 months for the U.S. to send refugees back home
  • 90% of Kosovo's residents were ethnic Albanian Muslims before the air campaign started
  • 11 unit headquarters of the Yugoslav 3rd Army have been hit by NATO
  • 6 bases for Interior Ministry police in Kosovo have been attacked
  • 5 bridges destroyed by NATO
  • 400 tanks and 28,000 troops in Kosovo have spread across the countryside
  • Fuel shortages are slowing the operations of some Serb units
  • At least 2 civilians killed in a NATO air strike on an apartment building in Aleksinac

Sources:

  • Washington _ The rejection couldn't have been swifter. President Clinton said Tuesday that NATO would not stop its bombing campaign against Serbian troops in response to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's declaration of a cease-fire. Clinton said Milosevic's ``temporary agreement'' that called for peace talks between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo fell far short of NATO requirements. (Associated Press)
  • The Pentagon released its most comprehensive estimates of damage after 13 days of NATO bombing, indicating that the most significant impact has been in shutting down some fuel supplies for Serb troops in Kosovo. (The New York Times)