NATO's Unintended Targets
By The Associated Press
Friday, May 21, 1999; 8:02 p.m. EDT
Some NATO bombing mistakes and missile attacks against
unintended targets. Casualty figures were reported by Serbs and
not independently confirmed:
April 5 -- Yugoslav officials say an attack on a residential area in
the mining town of Aleksinac kills 17 people.
April 9 -- NATO says a bomb, intended for the main telephone
exchange in Kosovo's capital of Pristina, fell short of its target,
causing damage to a residential area.
April 12 -- Yugoslav state media report NATO missiles struck a
railroad bridge near the Serb town of Grdelica and inadvertently
hit a passenger train, killing 17. NATO confirmed a rail bridge
was struck by allied aircraft and that a train was nearby at the
time.
April 14 -- Seventy-five ethnic Albanian refugees die in an attack
on a convoy near Djakovica. NATO acknowledges a misfire
``may have caused damage to a civilian vehicle and unintentional
harm to civilian lives,'' but blames the Serbs for putting the
refugees in danger.
April 27 -- A missile strike in the Serb town of Surdulica kills at
least 20 civilians. NATO says one of its bombs missed the
target, a nearby military barracks, and struck a residential
neighborhood.
April 28 -- A missile slams into a private home in Sofia, Bulgaria,
but no injuries are reported. NATO acknowledges a missile went
off course and may have crossed the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border.
May 1 -- A missile hits a bus crossing a bridge north of Pristina,
killing 47. NATO says the bus started across the bridge after a
bomb directed at the span had been released.
May 7 -- Fighter pilots using outdated maps attack the Chinese
Embassy in Belgrade, killing three journalists and injuring 20
people. In admitting the mistake, NATO says: ``We explained to
the Chinese authorities this is an accident. We offered our
sincere regrets.''
May 7 -- A cluster bomb attack damages a marketplace and the
grounds of a hospital in Nis, killing at least 15. NATO says the
target of the attack had been an airfield, but admits it was ``highly
probable that a weapon went astray and hit civilian buildings.''
May 13 -- 87 ethnic Albanians are killed and more than 100
injured, Yugoslavia says, in a late night NATO bombing of a
Kosovo village, Korisa. Acknowledging the attack, NATO says
Korisa is a Serb military command post, and suggests Serb
forces trapped the refugees next to the target as human shields.
May 20 -- At least three people are killed when NATO missiles
hit a hospital near a military barracks in Belgrade. NATO
acknowledges one of its laser-guided weapons missed a target.
The Swiss ambassador's residence also is damaged during a
reception, along with the Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian and
Hungarian ambassadors' residences. Serbian media say
damage also was reported at Libya's embassy and the Israeli
diplomatic mission.
May 21 -- State media say NATO bombs a Kosovo jail, killing at
least 19 people and injuring scores.
=BF Copyright 1999 The Associated Press
-To join or leave the Socialism From Below list, send an email to sfb@tao=
=2Eca--
By The Associated Press
Friday, May 21, 1999; 8:02 p.m. EDT
Some NATO bombing mistakes and missile attacks against
unintended targets. Casualty figures were reported by Serbs and
not independently confirmed:
April 5 -- Yugoslav officials say an attack on a residential area in
the mining town of Aleksinac kills 17 people.
April 9 -- NATO says a bomb, intended for the main telephone
exchange in Kosovo's capital of Pristina, fell short of its target,
causing damage to a residential area.
April 12 -- Yugoslav state media report NATO missiles struck a
railroad bridge near the Serb town of Grdelica and inadvertently
hit a passenger train, killing 17. NATO confirmed a rail bridge
was struck by allied aircraft and that a train was nearby at the
time.
April 14 -- Seventy-five ethnic Albanian refugees die in an attack
on a convoy near Djakovica. NATO acknowledges a misfire
``may have caused damage to a civilian vehicle and unintentional
harm to civilian lives,'' but blames the Serbs for putting the
refugees in danger.
April 27 -- A missile strike in the Serb town of Surdulica kills at
least 20 civilians. NATO says one of its bombs missed the
target, a nearby military barracks, and struck a residential
neighborhood.
April 28 -- A missile slams into a private home in Sofia, Bulgaria,
but no injuries are reported. NATO acknowledges a missile went
off course and may have crossed the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border.
May 1 -- A missile hits a bus crossing a bridge north of Pristina,
killing 47. NATO says the bus started across the bridge after a
bomb directed at the span had been released.
May 7 -- Fighter pilots using outdated maps attack the Chinese
Embassy in Belgrade, killing three journalists and injuring 20
people. In admitting the mistake, NATO says: ``We explained to
the Chinese authorities this is an accident. We offered our
sincere regrets.''
May 7 -- A cluster bomb attack damages a marketplace and the
grounds of a hospital in Nis, killing at least 15. NATO says the
target of the attack had been an airfield, but admits it was ``highly
probable that a weapon went astray and hit civilian buildings.''
May 13 -- 87 ethnic Albanians are killed and more than 100
injured, Yugoslavia says, in a late night NATO bombing of a
Kosovo village, Korisa. Acknowledging the attack, NATO says
Korisa is a Serb military command post, and suggests Serb
forces trapped the refugees next to the target as human shields.
May 20 -- At least three people are killed when NATO missiles
hit a hospital near a military barracks in Belgrade. NATO
acknowledges one of its laser-guided weapons missed a target.
The Swiss ambassador's residence also is damaged during a
reception, along with the Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian and
Hungarian ambassadors' residences. Serbian media say
damage also was reported at Libya's embassy and the Israeli
diplomatic mission.
May 21 -- State media say NATO bombs a Kosovo jail, killing at
least 19 people and injuring scores.
=BF Copyright 1999 The Associated Press
-To join or leave the Socialism From Below list, send an email to sfb@tao=
=2Eca--