The 23-story building in Belgrade burned at daybreak on Wednesday RELATED VIDEO CNN's Matthew Chance says the stream of refugees entering Macedonia is increasing (April 21) Windows Media 28K 80K NATO wants to cut off the Serbian military's fuel supply, but as CNN's Andrea Koppel reports, that may mean cutting off fuel to Yugoslav civilians (April 20) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K While NATO attacks Yugoslavia, the Kosovo Liberation Army is continuing its own fight for an independent Kosovo. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports. (April 20) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K To view the latest video streams on the strikes in Yugoslavia, use the arrow buttons below to scroll through the video gallery.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K IMAGE GALLERY: The Kosovo refugees Protesting the NATO strikes Devastation of the Kosovo capital The Serbs and Kosovo  ALSO With camps at capacity, more refugees expected Ground troops option to be reviewed by NATO leaders U.S. Apache helicopters due in Albania on Wednesday  MESSAGE BOARD Crisis in Kosovo  MAPS NATO officials describe the air campaign

April 21, 1999
Web posted at: 8:53 a.m. EDT (1253 GMT)

In this story: Attack seen as symbolic No consensus on ground troops British PM vows no deal RELATED STORIES, SITES

LONDON (CNN) -- NATO airstrikes on Wednesday hit the last remaining bridge over the Danube River in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia's second largest city, and set ablaze the Belgrade offices of President Slobodan Milosevic's ruling party.

As NATO prepared for a fifth week of its air campaign against Yugoslavia, at least two cruise missiles struck the 23-story building that houses the executive offices of the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia. The building has a large radio and TV transmission unit atop it.

British Defense Secretary George Robertson said the building was "largely destroyed," calling it "one of the nerve centers of the regime which plans the killing in Kosovo."

"We are now striking at the very heart of that bloodstained regime and will do so again and again and again," he said.

Robertson and Air Marshal John Day, Britain's deputy chief of staff, said Yugoslavia's army now sees no hope of beating the alliance. Though Yugoslav air defenses remain active, "NATO's aircraft can operate almost with impunity in the region," Day said.

And Robertson warned Yugoslavia that any Yugoslav moves against Albania, Macedonia or the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro would be "a sign of weakness rather than strength."

Yugoslav army troops and Albanian security forces clashed along the Albanian border in a seven-hour firefight, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said. One Albanian soldier was wounded in the first confirmed exchange of fire between soldiers from the two countries since the conflict began.

And Croatia's Defense Ministry said Yugoslav troops had crossed into a U.N.-controlled zone at the border with Montenegro, blocking the border crossing point.

Attack seen as symbolic

The new strikes on Belgrade came on the eve of a visit by Russian envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin, who is scheduled to arrive Thursday in another effort to end the conflict. Wednesday's attack on the Socialist Party headquarters was considered a strike at a symbol of Milosevic's power.

Also inside the building are the offices of TV Pink, a popular entertainment studio that has been involved with recent anti-NATO protests, and Kosava radio and TV, owned by Milosevic's daughter Marija.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but a woman who works an earlier shift in the building told Serbian TV that there is an overnight crew that works in the building.

The height of structure made firefighting difficult, Yugoslav authorities reported. The building's two top stories and bottom three were ablaze. Lights were still burning on the structure's middle floors after the attack.

Serbian TV reported an attack on the southern city of Novi Pazar, 110 miles (176 km) south of Belgrade.

The network also showed video of a damaged bridge at Beska, a town in the Vojvodina region, which it says was hit for the third time.

Serbian TV reported strikes on a camp for Serbian refugees from Croatia outside Djakovica in Kosovo. It said three people were killed, including children, and several wounded.

Explosions light up the sky above Valjevo

Serbian TV reported the Krusik factory, a repeated target in Valjevo, was hit again. The report said a residential area was struck, injuring one person, and that it was the strongest attack in Valjevo, about 45 miles (70 km) southwest of Belgrade, since the bombing campaign began in late March.

Novi Sad, Yugoslavia's second-largest city, reported attacks on an oil refinery, a railway bridge and a Serbian TV transmitter that knocked out television broadcasts in the region.

Strikes were reported in a village near the central Serbian town of Kraljevo, which has come under repeated attack, and Cacak, about 60 miles (100 km) south of Belgrade.

Serbian TV said the Zezeljev bridge in Novi Sad is now impassable except to pedestrians. Television footage showed the bridge was damaged, but not destroyed.

In Washington, officials said there is no NATO consensus for sending in ground troops and, with the campaign focused on airstrikes, the strategy now is to explore the tightening of sanctions against Yugoslavia, especially ways to bar oil shipments from getting in the hands of Milosevic.

"We will consider new economic measures designed to deny Belgrade the ability to wage war against its own people, such as an embargo on oil products," Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said.

Defense Secretary William Cohen said: "We think it's important that all sources of resupply of fuel and energy be eliminated. How that is to be achieved is a matter of discussion. ... We're looking for the most appropriate and expeditious way of doing it."

In Brussels, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea echoed those sentiments when asked about reports of oil still coming into Yugoslavia from other countries. Shea said NATO was still working on ways to cut that flow, but no decisions had been reached.

Shea said that the Yugoslav army were driving people out of their homes and toward southern Kosovo in a "safari operation" but not allowing them to cross the border. He said on Monday a train was sent south from Pristina but stopped near the border and sent back.

"What we are seeing is a safari operation ongoing by Serb security forces against Kosovo Albanians," Shea said.

He said Milosevic was driving people to the south apparently so he could cause a "surge" of refugees and that there is evidence that indicates Yugoslav forces were engaged in ethnic cleaning inside Montenegro.

Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said Pentagon officials are looking into those reports.

"These are obviously extremely disturbing and we're looking further at them," Bacon said.

Bacon said airstrikes are making life difficult for Serb forces, but NATO still has plenty of work to do.

"Nothing we've seen so far is a clear stop to their operations. What we're seeing is signs that we're grinding them down, but it's slow, and it will require a lot more attacking on our part and NATO is prepared to do that," he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed there will be "no deal" with Milosevic, and U.S. and NATO officials pledged to seek tighter sanctions "to deny Belgrade the ability to wage war against its own people."

In other developments: