|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]()
|
NATO: Strikes cutting Yugoslav army supply lines
April 4, 1999
BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- NATO airstrikes are cutting off vital supplies to the Yugoslav army in Kosovo, allied spokesmen said Sunday. As another round of NATO strikes began early Sunday, the Yugoslav army in Kosovo was moving westward to attack remaining guerrilla forces of the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army, said British Air Commodore David Wilby, NATO's military spokesman. NATO strikes pounded military command centers, bridges, fuel supplies and air defense installations around Belgrade, Wilby said, with the aim of breaking supply lines to the troops in other parts of the country. "Our air effort was concentrated around Belgrade, with attacks being conducted against major army and security forces in the city, including the headquarters of the Yugoslav First Army," Wilby said. Other targets included a Serb police academy and oil depots. Report: Rugova under house arrestMeanwhile, a NATO member reported that ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova is under house arrest in Kosovo, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said Sunday. "He has no freedom of movement, but has to report to local police several times a day," Shea said. Shea said pictures of Rugova meeting with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, broadcast Thursday on Serbian television, may be as much as two years old. NATO to unleash 'full weight'NATO forces will now unleash their "full weight" on Yugoslavia as bad weather over the region lifts, allowing the campaign of airstrikes to intensify, British officials said Sunday. Strikes continued into Sunday's Easter holiday, the day the world's Christians mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Britain's Armed Forces Minister Doug Henderson took note of the holiday, assigning blame for the continuing conflict to Milosevic.
"There is action on Easter Sunday because President Milosevic
is determined to drive the population of Kosovo into exile.
We will not let this stand," he said at a news briefing. (
Yugoslav forces 'short of fuel'Cruise missiles from ships in the Adriatic Sea pounded military command centers, bridges, fuel supplies and air defense installations in Yugoslavia, said Air Marshal Sir John Day, Britain's deputy chief of staff. "The weather in the operational area is at last improving, and we confidently expect the full weight of NATO's air power will be brought to bear in the next few days," Day said. Henderson said the bombings are beginning to take a toll on the Yugoslav army and Serbian special police, which NATO accuses of carrying out a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against ethnic Albanians in the Serbian province of Kosovo. "His forces are increasingly isolated in the field and running short of fuel and ammunition," Henderson said.
"I want to make it clear that President Milosevic must now
expect the campaign to intensify, and bad weather will not
save him," he added. ( Meanwhile, Serb television reported that the NATO strikes had damaged what it described as a heating plant, a police academy and an oil warehouse in Belgrade. At about 4:35 a.m. Sunday Belgrade time (9:35 p.m. EST) Belgrade was rocked by a large explosion. CNN reporters saw a fireball and an orange glow which lit up the sky. Serb TV showed pictures of what it said was a thermal electric plant -- a facility which would make steam for heat and generate electricity -- in Novi Belgrade, or new Belgrade. They said five workers inside the facility at the time of the attack were hospitalized. In addition, a police academy in Banjica southwest of Belgrade was hit, according to Serb TV, which said no injuries were reported there. An oil refinery at Kraljevo near the city of Cacak in central Yugoslavia was also hit. Serbian TV says at least three people were injured by the attack in Kraljevo. More bridges hitEarlier Saturday, NATO destroyed a second major bridge in Novi Sad, blocking the Danube River and further isolating Serbia's second largest city. Serb TV broke into programming to say that the Kamenicki Bridge had been hit around 8 p.m. Saturday local time (1 p.m. EST) by a cruise missile. Novi Sad is 80 km (50 miles) north of Belgrade. An eyewitness said rescue divers were searching for one or two cars that were on the bridge when it was hit. Electricity was knocked out in the area. Serbian TV also reported that a bridge 30 miles west of Novi Sad had been hit on Saturday. NATO said last week when the first bridge was hit that the bridges were being used to support troops in Kosovo. Saturday's strikes began with NATO's first attack in the heart of Belgrade since Operation Allied Force began. NATO missiles transformed two government buildings into massive fireballs. Correspondents Patricia Kelly, Brent Sadler, John King, Alessio Vinci, Martin Savidge and Bill Delaney contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: Britain: NATO unleashing 'full weight' on Yugoslavia RELATED SITES: Extensive list of Kosovo-related sites
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Back to the top |
© 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. |