NATO says it is launching a 'full and thorough investigation' into the Yugoslav report of dozens of civilian deaths in Korisa, Kosovo RELATED VIDEO Some members of an ethnic group who have no conflict with the Serbs have fled Kosovo anyway, because of the fighting. CNN's Amanda Kibel talks with several Romanies. (May 14) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K It's hard for aid workers to convince Kosovo refugees in Albania to move to camps farther from the Kosovo border. CNN's Rusty Dornin explains why. (May 13) 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 A cracked window to a war To the corners of the world: The flight of Kosovo's refugees  ALSO: Rugova in Britain to promote return of Kosovo refugees Hillary Clinton hears Kosovars' tales of tears Clinton calls Chinese president with apology Finnish leader to join Chernomyrdin on Belgrade visit  THE DELUGE OF REFUGEES: Where are they going?  MESSAGE BOARD: China tomorrow Crisis in Kosovo  MAPS: NATO officials describe the air campaign  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: NATO at 50 Strike on Yugoslavia

May 14, 1999
Web posted at: 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT)

In this story: Better weather aids NATO pilots Journalist shows video of alleged massacre Clinton apologizes to Chinese president RELATED STORIES, SITES

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- NATO blasted a convoy of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo early Friday, killing dozens of civilians, many of them women and children, Yugoslav government officials said.

Yugoslav Foreign Ministry spokesman Nebojsa Vujovic told CNN that 79 bodies had been pulled from the smoldering wreckage of the convoy in Korisa, near the Kosovo city of Prizren, and that the death toll was expected to rise. Vujovic said at least 58 people had been wounded in the attack.

Serbian television showed scenes of devastation, bodies burned beyond recognition and charred tractors scattered at the scene.

NATO said it had struck military targets near Prizren but could not confirm the attack on the Korisa convoy.

At NATO headquarters in Belgium, alliance spokesman Jamie Shea said a "full and thorough investigation" into the Yugoslav report was in the works. He had no other information, but added, "NATO does not target civilians. That's it, let's be perfectly clear about that."

U.S. State Department Spokesman James Rubin urged reporters to exercise "a high degree of skepticism" regarding the reported attack. He said there had been "substantial and significant Serb shelling in the area."

CNN's Brent Sadler, reporting from Korisa, said Yugoslav authorities told him as many as 500 Kosovars had returned to the village in the last 24 hours.

But Kosovo refugees in Albania said the Serbs have evicted scores of Albanians from that area in recent days, raising questions about whether the villagers were returning of their own free will.

Better weather aids NATO pilots

The Korisa attack came on the heaviest single day of NATO missions against Yugoslavia since airstrikes began, with a total of 679 sorties flown.

Better weather has helped NATO increase the pace and accuracy of its airstrikes, said British Rear Adm. Simon Moore, assistant chief of defense staff.

"It's largely because of good weather," Moore said. "The other factor is, because of that, we also know where the Serbs are."

Allied planes armed with special graphite bombs targeted Serbia's electrical power grid, blacking out districts of Yugoslavia's three largest cities -- Belgrade, Nis and Novi Sad. The cities of Leskovac, Pirot and Sabac also reported blackouts.

The so-called "soft bombs" explode above electric power plants and spray the area with graphite, a conductor that causes short circuits without destroying power grids.

Serbian television on Friday reported that a bridge in the residential area of Vrbas and an area near the town of Uzice were hit overnight. Djakovica, Pec and Urosevac were also targeted, the network reported.

Those raids came just hours after a contingent of Yugoslav troops -- about 150 men -- left Kosovo on Thursday in what NATO officials considered a largely theatrical gesture.

"We still believe it is only a token effort to give the impression that a withdrawal has begun," said Maj. Gen. Walter Jertz, NATO's military spokesman.

NATO officials believe there were about 40,000 Yugoslav forces in Kosovo, including some 300 armored vehicles, when the war began March 24.

Journalist shows video of alleged massacre

A journalist for Kosovo television released a videotape of what he claimed was a massacre of Kosovo Albanians by Serb forces in late March.

Journalist Liri Loshi gave CNN a tape showing rows of dead men laying on the ground. He said they were among 127 men executed on March 28 by Serb soldiers in the village of Izbica, in Kosovo's Drenica Valley.

Loshi said he came across the bodies three days later.

Yugoslav Federal Minister Goran Matic called the reported massacre another example of Western media manipulation by Kosovar Albanians. He strongly denied that the Yugoslav military has been involved in any mass executions.

Clinton apologizes to Chinese president

On the diplomatic front, U.S. President Bill Clinton was able to speak by telephone Friday morning to Chinese President Jiang Zemin to personally apologize for last week's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, which killed three Chinese journalists. White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart described the 30-minute conversation as "very constructive."

Jiang had previously refused to accept Clinton's call.

Meanwhile, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott said he found key Russian officials to be "very focused on the diplomacy over Kosovo" despite the latest Kremlin shakeup and impeachment proceedings against President Boris Yeltsin. Talbott has spent time in Moscow and elsewhere this week trying to lay the groundwork for a post-war peace plan in Kosovo.

A U.N. humanitarian assessment mission was scheduled to head for Yugoslavia Saturday.

Correspondents Brent Sadler, Jamie McIntyre and Amanda Kibel contributed to this report.

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