Rugova and his family arrive in Rome RELATED VIDEO CNN's Rome Bureau Chief Gayle Young reports on Rugova's first trip to the West since the start of NATO bombing (May 5) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K British officials vow to stand firm in NATO bombing campaign. CNN's Margaret Lowrie has the story. (May 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K A Muslim country is helping build a refugee camp in Albania. Because the country is the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, the site is being called the "Hilton of camps." CNN's Jane Arraf checks it out. (May 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K The U.N. says the Serbs have started a new ethnic-cleansing tactic: deporting one family member so others will follow. CNN's Nic Robertson talks with a family about their experience. (May 4) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K To view the latest video streams on the strikes in Kosovo, use the arrow buttons below to scroll through the video gallery.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K IMAGE GALLERY Latest from Kosovo The Kosovo refugees The Serbs and Kosovo  ALSO: U.S.: Serbs destroying bodies of Kosovo victims Jackson renews call for bombing pause, negotiations U.S. helicopter crew killed in crash in Albania Size may double for Kosovo peacekeeping force Albania might move refugees farther from Kosovo  THE DELUGE OF REFUGEES: Where are they going?  CNN WORLD REPORT CONFERENCE: Follow CNN's 1999 World Report Conference this week in Atlanta and New York  MESSAGE BOARD: Crisis in Kosovo  MAPS: NATO officials describe the air campaign  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: NATO at 50 Strike on Yugoslavia

May 6, 1999
Web posted at: 2:55 a.m. EDT (0655 GMT)

In this story: Rugova in Rome 'What needs to be done' Clinton praises soldiers The attacks continue Kosovars arrive in U.S. RELATED STORIES, SITES

BELGRADE (CNN) -- NATO airstrikes pounded Yugoslavia overnight as most of Serbia remained without power for a third consecutive day. The attacks came amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts aimed at finding a solution to end the war.

Yugoslav National Radio broadcast a report from a spokesman for the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry, laying out Yugoslav conditions for allowing an international force into Kosovo. He said the force must be led by the United Nations and that an agreement about its deployment must be reached "in direct negotiations between the Yugoslav government and the U.N."

NATO has insisted a NATO military force must be at the core of a security force in Kosovo.

The Yugoslav Foreign Ministry spokesman also said his government would accept a withdrawal of the Yugoslav police and military from Kosovo, but only if NATO withdrew 20,000 of its troops from Macedonia and additional 10,000 from Albania.

The comments came as foreign ministers from Western powers and Russia were gathering in Bonn, Germany, for a meeting later Thursday to try to agree on a peace formula to end the conflict in Kosovo, with the West hoping to get Russia to sign aboard for an armed international force within Kosovo after a peace is agreed.

Rugova in Rome

Earlier, in a surprise meeting, Kosovar Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova flew to Rome with his family, including four young children, and met with Italian Premier Massimo D'Alema and Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini.

They could be heard exchanging words of concern about the plight of the hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians who have fled Kosovo since NATO strikes began in late March.

It was unclear if Rugova, considered a key player in any potential political settlement for Kosovo, was sent with a political message from Yugoslav President or allowed to leave as a gesture of goodwill.

Rugova, who was believed to be under house arrest, has been shown on Serbian television meeting with Milosevic during the ongoing NATO attacks.

'What needs to be done'

In Moscow, Russian special envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin returned from a diplomatic trip to the United States where he met with President Clinton and other top officials.

"Both Russia and the U.S. understand now what's really going on at the Balkans and what needs to be done," Chernomyrdin, who has also met with Belgrade leaders in recent weeks, told reporters. "We were searching for ways of settling the conflict, but it's a difficult task."

In Washington, sources told CNN that President Clinton has been told by Supreme Allied Commander Gen. that the security force envisioned by the alliance will have to be significantly larger than the 28,000-man force initially planned because of the devastation in Kosovo and the huge number of refugees.

Administration officials said they've only discussed a security force in a "permissive environment" with Clark. A separate NATO contingency review of what it would take to mount a ground invasion has not been completed.

Several sources said Clark has not decided the specific number of troops he would need, but said his "ballpark" number was roughly 60,000 -- more than double the initial plan.

Clinton praises soldiers

In Germany, Clinton met with U.S. troops at Ramstein Air Base and Spangdahlem Air Base, expressing his thanks for "standing up for the freedom of the people in the Balkans."

"The United States military, because of people like you, can do things for a troubled world that no one else can do. And I am profoundly grateful," Clinton told soldiers stationed at Ramstein.

He also met with the three U.S. soldiers who were held captive by Yugoslavia for more than a month -- and whose freedom was secured by Rev. Jesse Jackson on a mission that the Clinton administration did not endorse.

"They're doing fine. I'm proud of them," he said

The president sent his condolences to the families of the two U.S. soldiers killed in an Apache helicopter crash during a training run in northern Albania.

The U.S. military identified the two Army aviators as Chief Warrant Officer 3 David A. Gibbs, 38, of Massillon, Ohio, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kevin L. Reichert, 28, of Chetek, Wisconsin.

He also expressed the dangers involved in the conflict while stressing the importance of NATO's Operation Allied Force.

"Kosovo is an affront to everything we stand for," Clinton said.

The attacks continue

The raids pressed on late Wednesday and early Thursday, ushering in the start of the seventh week, or 43rd day, of the attack.

Yugoslav National Radio said three missiles hit near the town of Jagodina, but there was no immediate word of damage. Two missiles exploded near the central Serb town of Kraljevo.

Missile strikes also were reported on two villages near the city of Nis, about 125 miles southeast of Belgrade.

Yugoslav officials say their nationwide power system has "collapsed" as a result of repeated NATO airstrikes. CNN's Alessio Vinci in Belgrade was told Wednesday that 60 percent of the country was without power. In the capital, only a small section rife with hospitals was getting power: other areas were forced to use generators, or remain without water and power.

The Serbian people were facing a shutdown of many aspects of their daily lives. Public transportation was at a standstill. Much of the telephone system was down.

NATO's Gen. Clark said the raids on Yugoslavia's infrastructure are part of the attack plan and that Milosevic is getting desperate.

"We've hit hard at his command of control: the brains behind the brutality. We're making it more and more difficult for him to send the orders to those forces on the ground," Clark said Wednesday.

Kosovars arrive in U.S.

In another development, more than 400 Kosovar Albanians arrived in New Jersey in the first wave of 20,000 refugees to be brought to the United States from the war-torn Balkans.

A 747 jetliner flew the group to McGuire Air Force Base from the squalid camps of Macedonia. The tired refugees were then bused to nearby Fort Dix, where they received a warm welcome from first Lady Hillary Clinton.

"We want to show you that our hearts and our homes are open to you as well," she said.

At the U.S. State Department, Deputy State Department Spokesman James Foley said there were reports of Serb forces in Kosovo destroying bodies of ethnic Albanians killed there, including one group of 26 ethnic Albanians who were allegedly kidnapped, murdered and then thrown down a well.

"The well was dynamited to destroy both the bodies and the well," Foley said.

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