NATO Missiles Slam Yugoslavia

Months of frustrating negotiation came to a fiery end Wednesday as NATO bombs and missiles shook the night in this provincial capital, marking the first time in NATO’s 50-year history that the alliance directed its military might at a sovereign nation.

The U.S.-led attacks were harshly criticized by Russia and questioned even by some NATO diplomats. They were launched after negotiations failed to halt a bloody campaign by Serbian forces against ethnic Albanians in the Serbian province of Kosovo.

Air-defense installations appeared to be the principal targets, although other military sites were struck. The Yugoslav army general staff said 40 targets--including five airports, five barracks, communications and command positions and storage depots--were hit. The Pristina barracks--the primary Serbian arms cache in Kosovo--was struck, igniting a raging fire. Flames rising from the barracks were reflected in windows throughout the city, which thousands of people have fled in recent days.

Some of the ethnic Albanians remaining said they were deathly afraid that one of the most immediate effects of the air campaign would be reprisals against them.

There was no immediate confirmation of Yugoslav claims of civilian casualties.

President Clinton marked the start of the bombing campaign, called Allied Force by the Pentagon, with the assertion that “only firmness now can prevent greater catastrophe later.”

In an address to the nation Wednesday night, Clinton said he had acted both to defend U.S. vital interests and out of a moral imperative to stop the slaughter of ethnic Albanians, who make up 90% of Kosovo’s population.

Clinton contrasted the NATO action with the world’s inaction in the face of Nazi aggression before World War II. Lives will be saved, he said. Not acting would grant Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic “a license to kill.”

“In the Balkans, inaction in the face of brutality simply invites more brutality,” he said.

NATO denied a Yugoslav military claim that two NATO planes were shot down. Pentagon spokesmen said no U.S. planes had been hit, but they were not forthcoming about the extent or success of the allied attacks. Gen. Henry H. Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to estimate how long the strikes might go on, saying only that they would “continue until such time as we achieve the mission.”

Reaction to the attacks varied widely:

* In Belgrade--capital of both Yugoslavia and its dominant republic, Serbia--Milosevic made a brief, calm TV address before the strikes. “We are determined on two main things: to continue persistently with the political process with all our energy because we believe truth and justice is on our side, and, secondly, to defend our country by all means to the extent that it is attacked,” he said.

* In Moscow, Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin cut all formal ties with NATO and warned that the airstrikes could spawn a wider war in Europe. He appealed to Clinton to call off the bombing. “This is a very serious step, and to make it without the U.N. Security Council would be more than incomprehensible,” he said. “In the event that the military conflict worsens, Russia retains the right to take adequate measures, including military ones, to defend itself and the overall security of Europe.”

* At the United Nations, Yugoslav Ambassador Vladislav Jovanovic told a news conference that he could not guarantee the fighting will not spill over into other countries. He called the attacks a crime.

* In Washington, congressional opposition to the Clinton administration’s insistence on the attacks softened as both Democrats and Republicans said it was time to support American forces. “Whatever the reservations about the president’s actions in the Balkans, let no one doubt that the Congress and the American people stand united behind our men and women who are bravely heeding the call of duty,” Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said.

* In Europe, at news conferences and in public statements, American allies struck a posture of unity. But in offices at alliance headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels, there was also uncertainty and misgivings. “The situation we are now in is catastrophic,” one European diplomat said. “We Europeans are worried about a Saddam Hussein scenario, where we bomb and we bomb, and nothing happens. Then we will have an Iraq in the heart of Europe.”

* At the Vatican, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls decried the attacks, quoting the words of Pope Pius XII on the outbreak of World War II: “Nothing is lost through peace; all can be lost with war.”

Air Raid Sirens Precede Explosions

Earlier Wednesday, life in Belgrade went on in nearly normal fashion, with ordinary traffic coursing the street, schools operating and people conducting business on a sunny spring day. There were long lines for gasoline, however, with cars sometimes stretching for blocks. Some people bought extra supplies of bread and other food, candles and bottled water.

Air raid sirens went off at 8:14 p.m. but stopped in about two minutes. During the next hour, about 15 explosions around the outskirts of Belgrade could be heard--and some seen--from the Hyatt Hotel rooftop. As of 10 p.m., the air raid sirens still had not gone on again.

In a statement broadcast on local radio, Yugoslav army headquarters reported that the country’s antiaircraft system was still functioning.

Among the targets believed hit in the first round of attacks were a military airport at Batajnica, about 10 miles north of Belgrade. One bomb appeared to strike within or close to the city limits. Traffic continued to move on Belgrade streets but was very light.

Local television reported that an aircraft factory near the capital was also hit.

The Associated Press reported that in the neighboring republic of Montenegro, which with Serbia forms Yugoslavia, an army military barracks in Danilovgrad was in flames after being hit. One soldier was reported killed and three others wounded.

Montenegro’s pro-Western leader, Milo Djukanovic, blamed Milosevic for the attacks, calling them “the tragic consequences of an irrational policy of confrontation with the entire world.”

Prior to the attacks, the government had shut down Yugoslavia’s most prominent independent radio, B92, and detained its editor in chief, Veron Matic. In an action typical of its freethinking style, Radio B92 had broadcast an interview with U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke on Monday during his last-ditch effort to convince Milosevic to agree to the peace plan already accepted by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian representatives.

The Washington Post said Serbian police took the newspaper’s correspondent, Peter Finn, into custody. Assistant managing editor Philip Bennett said police escorted Finn from his Belgrade hotel early this morning, telling a clerk he would be expelled from Yugoslavia.

Yugoslav authorities detained about 30 other Western journalists, mainly photographers attempting to film the airstrikes from the roof of a Belgrade hotel. They later released all but one.

The Serb-run media center in Pristina said the Kosovo cities of Srbica and Podujevo were among those targeted. Those cities were the sites of alleged atrocities during a Serbian offensive that began Saturday after the exit of 1,400 international monitors.

The media center said the wives and children of Serbian soldiers were among those killed in the attacks, a claim that could not be confirmed.

Albanian Authorities Fear Involvement

In Tirana, the capital of Albania, authorities released a letter Wednesday from NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana assuring them that NATO treat any attack on the country by Yugoslav forces with “utmost seriousness.”

Albania fears that fighting in Kosovo might spill across the border, and in recent days it has been protesting what it says are Yugoslav violations of its northern border.

“I would like to emphasize that it would be unacceptable if the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were to threaten the territorial integrity, political independence and security of your country,” Solana said in the letter to Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko, written after the decision to launch airstrikes.

Solana said Albania’s security was of “direct and material concern to the alliance.”

“I would also like to reiterate that the alliance would view with the utmost seriousness any attack by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on your country,” Solana said.

In an interview broadcast on Albanian television in Tirana, Hashim Thaci, a leader of the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army, urged ethnic Albanians in Kosovo not to panic. Thaci, who participated in peace talks this month in Paris, was one of the ethnic Albanian representatives who signed the accord worked out there.

“The international community is doing neither more nor less than living up to the obligations it undertook in Paris, the obligations which derive from the agreement signed by the Kosovo delegation and the international community,” Thaci said.

Airstrikes Include Dogfight Over Kosovo

NATO forces had previously been involved in the conflict in Bosnia, but acted there under United Nations command. This is the first time the organization has directed combat operations under its own authority.

Wednesday’s airstrikes were launched from air bases in England, Italy and from ships. The airstrikes included more than 80 aircraft from the United States, Britain, Italy, Canada, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany. About 100 air- and sea-launched cruise missles were fired at Yugoslav targets, according to a U.S. defense official.

The German flights were the first airstrikes launched by that nation since World War II. Ironically, the last time airstrikes were directed against Belgrade, they were led by the U.S. and aimed at German forces.

Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said the assault began with cruise missiles aimed primarily at Yugoslavia’s sophisticated air-defense system.

Cohen confirmed that an air-to-air dogfight had taken place over Kosovo but said NATO forces suffered no casualties.

Cohen said two B-2 Stealth bombers were used in combat for the first time. Military experts said the use of the bomber on the first day of the campaign was significant. Unlike cruise missiles, which carry relatively light warheads, the B-2 can carry 2,000-pound bombs capable of penetrating underground facilities.

On Tuesday, NATO officials had suggested that the attack would be limited to cruise missiles for at least the first day or two. By resorting immediately to the B-2 and to the Stealth F-117, the alliance seemed to be sending a message to Milosevic that NATO is extremely serious about this effort.

Reaction throughout the United States was muted. Small demonstrations in opposition to the air campaign occurred in some cities, included San Francisco.

The president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops was ambivalent. Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston said the objective of “protecting civilian populations which have already suffered greatly” was legitimate. But he said the attacks pose serious moral questions: “What is the likelihood of bombing achieving its aims, and what is likely to follow if bombing does not succeed?

Clinton’s decision to use force seemed to command a narrow majority on Capitol Hill. The Senate voted, 58 to 41, on Tuesday to endorse the air campaign, with 16 Republicans joining all but three Democrats in support. The bombs began to drop before the House could vote on the issue. Late Wednesday, the House began debating a resolution expressing support for U.S. troops without passing judgment on the wisdom of using force in Kosovo.

State Department spokesman James P. Rubin broadened the warning, telling Milosevic to refrain from military activity in neighboring countries or even in Montenegro, Serbia’s junior partner in the two-republic Yugoslav federation.

“World attention on Kosovo does not mean that Yugoslavia has a free hand to cause problems in other parts of the country or the region,” Rubin said. “Our message to the [Yugoslav] leadership is clear: Any attempt to overthrow the democratically elected Montenegro government would only fuel wider regional instability, lead to deeper isolation for Yugoslavia and escalate the conflict with NATO.”

*

Watson reported from Pristina and Kempster from Washington. Times staff writers John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels, David Holley in Belgrade, Julie Ha in Los Angeles, Richard C. Paddock in Moscow, James F. Smith in Mexico City, John J. Goldman at the United Nations and Times wire services contributed to this report, which was written in Los Angeles by staff writer Terry McDermott.

Video of President Clinton’s address to the nation regarding NATO’s airstrikes against Yugoslavia can be seen on The Times’ Web site: https://www.latimes.com/yugo.

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Kosovo’s Struggle for Independence

A look at Kosovo and the chain of events leading up to the current attacks.

1968: First pro-independence demonstrations by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

1974: New Yugoslav Constitution declares Kosovo an autonomous province within Serbia.

1980: Yugoslav leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito dies.

1981: Ethnic Albanians hold street demonstrations demanding Kosovo be declared a republic; dozens are injured.

1989: Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic strips Kosovo of autonomy. More than 20 killed in protests.

1990: Yugoslavia sends in troops, and Serbia dissolves Kosovo’s: government.

1991: Separatists proclaim Kosovo a republic, which is recognized by neighboring Albania.

1996: Pro-independence Kosovo Liberation Army emerges.

March 1998: Dozens killed in Serbian police action against suspected Albanian separatists.

September 1998: Serbian forces attack central Kosovo, where 22 ethnic Albanians are found massacred. U.N. Security Council calls for immediate cease-fire and political dialogue.

October 1998: NATO allies authorize airstrikes against Serbian military targets. Milosevic, now president of Yugoslavia, agrees to withdraw troops.

February 6-17: First round of talks between Kosovo Albanians and Serbs in Rambouillet, France.

March 18: Kosovo Albanians sign peace deal calling for interim autonomy and 28,000 NATO-led troops to implement it. Serbian delegation refuses, and talks are suspended.

March 22: U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke warns Milosevic of airstrikes unless he signs peace agreement.

March 23: Holbrooke declares talks have failed. NATO authorizes airstrikes. Yugoslavia declares state of emergency--its first since World War II.

March 24 Airstrikes begin.

Sources: Associated Press, Kosovo Factbook, The State of War and Peace Atlas

Kosovo compared with California

Kosovo Facts

Population: 2.1 million

People: 90% ethnic Albanian, 10% Serb

Size: 4,200 square miles (roughly the size of San Diego County)

NATO’s Barrage

Cruise missiles slammed into military targets from Belgrade to Montenegro on Wednesday, sent from ships and aircraft from the United States and other NATO nations.