Clinton has ordered $20 million in emergency funds to help relocate ethnic Albanian refugees to the United States

RELATED VIDEO

CNN's Rusty Dornin reports on the newly arrived Bradley Fighting Vehicles being used to support Apache helicopters NATO may use in Yugoslavia (April 30)

Windows Media 28K 80K

ALSO

Jackson visits captured U.S. soldiers

Yugoslavs offer peace -- but no peacekeepers -- in Kosovo

Macedonia says refugee problem overwhelming

MESSAGE BOARD

Crisis in Kosovo

NATO visit added to Clinton's European trip

April 30, 1999
Web posted at: 1:47 p.m. EDT (1747 GMT)

In this story:

Pentagon: War in 'domination phase'

RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States on Friday rejected Yugoslavia's proposal that any U.N.-backed peacekeepers in Kosovo must be unarmed, saying the plan falls short of NATO conditions for ending its air war against Yugoslavia.

A seven-point peace plan, which Yugoslav officials discussed with visiting Russian envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin, calls for an unarmed "international presence" in Kosovo. But such a proposal does not appear to change in any significant way what the Yugoslav government has previously said it would accept.

"That clearly falls short of NATO's conditions," U.S. National Security Council spokesman David Leavy said. NATO has insisted that any peacekeeping force in Kosovo be armed and have NATO troops at its core.

In related developments:

Adding a stop to his European trip next week, President Clinton will fly to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, before heading on to Germany. The president will leave Washington Tuesday evening, arriving on Wednesday in Brussels, where NATO leaders will brief him on the air war.

The president will travel to Germany later Wednesday to see U.S. forces taking part in humanitarian airlifts for Kosovo refugees, and to meet with refugees hosted by the German government. He will spend the night in Frankfurt and return to Washington Thursday.

Clinton has ordered $20 million in existing State Department emergency funds to be redirected to help relocate 20,000 ethnic Albanian refugees to the United States.

Gen. Henry Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the bombing campaign has entered the "domination phase."


Low-flying Apaches are more vulnerable to ground-based fire

"NATO is conducting air operations over Yugoslavia both day and night, virtually around the clock," he told reporters at a Pentagon briefing. "Our military strikes have taken a heavy toll on (Yugoslavian President Slobodan) Milosevic's forces and his security infrastructure."

By NATO's estimate, the Serbs have lost no more than 15 percent of their tanks, although the efficiency of attacks on armor is likely to improve once the Army puts its Apache attack helicopters into action.

Now based in Albania, the relatively low-flying Apaches will be vulnerable to small arms and shoulder-fired weapons on the ground. "That's why we take maximum advantage of the night and of the terrain," said Army Col. Mike Hackerson.

That means pilots will fly at night and close to the ground, popping up from behind hills to hit their targets. Such a strategy "denies the (enemy) gunner ... the ability to engage us," Hackerson said at a Pentagon briefing on Apache operations.

Correspondents Jamie McIntyre , John King, Chris Black and Rusty Dornin contributed to this report.

RELATED STORIES:

NATO strikes 'brains' of Belgrade; Britain sends more planes
April 30, 1999
Jesse Jackson to meet captured U.S. soldiers in Yugoslavia
April 30, 1999
Russia, U.S. disagree on Yugoslavia peace plans
April 29, 1999
Macedonia says refugee problem overwhelming
April 29, 1999
New refugees describe forced evacuation, possible massacre
April 28, 1999

RELATED SITES:

Extensive list of Kosovo-related sites:
  • Kosovo

Yugoslavia:
  • Federal Republic of Yugoslavia official site
      • Kesovo and Metohija facts
  • Serbia Ministry of Information
  • Serbia Now! News

Kosovo:
  • Kosova Crisis Center
  • Kosova Liberation Peace Movement
  • Kosovo - from Albanian.com

Military:
  • F-117s arrive at Aviano to support possible NATO operations
  • NATO official site
  • BosniaLINK - U.S. Dept. of Defense
  • U.S. Navy images from Operation Allied Force
  • U.K. Ministry of Defence - Kosovo news
  • U.K. Royal Air Force - Kosovo news
  • Jane's Defence - Kosovo Crisis

Relief:
  • U.S. Agency for International Development (Kosovo aid)
  • Doctors of the World
  • InterAction
  • International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  • International Committee of the Red Cross
  • Kosovo Humanitarian Disaster Forces Hundreds of Thousands from their Homes
  • Catholic Relief Services
  • Kosovo Relief
  • ReliefWeb: Home page
  • The Jewish Agency for Israel
  • Mercy International

Media:
  • Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
  • Independent Yugoslav radio stations B92
  • Institute for War and Peace Reporting
  • United States Information Agency - Kosovo Crisis

Other:
  • Expanded list of related sites on Kosovo
  • 1997 view of Kosovo from space - Eurimage

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

LATEST HEADLINES:

Back to the top