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From left: Jackson, Solana, and Clark, tour the destruction of Pristina
MILITARY PLAN: RELATED VIDEO Every building in Djakovica, Yugoslavia, is damaged. CNN's Christiane Amanpour goes there (June 24) Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Mike Boettcher went to the checkpoint where NATO troops were fired upon Wednesday (June 24) Windows Media 28K 80K NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana addresses the press in Pristina Thursday (June 24) Windows Media 28K 80K Use the arrow buttons below to select the latest streams on the Kosovo situation.        Windows Media Real        28 K 80 K  ALSO: NATO bombing: Wrong target warning never passed along Gunmen who fired on Marines believed to be Serbs U.S. offers $5 million for war crimes suspects  MESSAGE BOARD: Rebuilding Kosovo  IN-DEPTH SPECIAL: Focus on Kosovo

June 24, 1999
Web posted at: 1:08 p.m. EDT (1708 GMT)

In this story: Clark blames Milosevic for killings Solana tries to reassure Serbs In other developments RELATED STORIES, SITES

PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- As peacekeepers found more evidence of atrocities in Kosovo, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana urged ethnic Albanians and Serbs on Thursday to put aside their hatred and rebuild the Yugoslav province.

Also Thursday, the United States offered a reward of up to $5 million to anyone providing information leading to the capture of alleged war criminals in Yugoslavia, including Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

State Department spokesman James Rubin said the money would go to "those who provide information that leads to the transfer of indicted war criminals" to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands.

Solana and NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark were on their first visit to Kosovo's provincial capital of Pristina, where they were being briefed by NATO's commander in Kosovo, British Lt. Gen. Mike Jackson. They also were to meet with ethnic Albanian and Serb representatives.

"Peace is more than the end of violence. Peace is more than just a cease-fire," Solana said at a news conference with the other two men. "It's a culture of democracy and a culture of tolerance. That is what we must build together in Kosovo," he said.

Earlier, the three walked through a bombed-out area of central Pristina, surveying buildings that had collapsed under NATO bombs. Several hundred ethnic Albanians surrounded them, clapping and chanting, "NATO! NATO!"

One elderly man in a traditional conical white hat gave Solana a kiss on the cheek and a big hug as tears streamed down his face.

"I never knew how I would see this. But I'm very moved, very moved," Solana said.

Clark blames Milosevic for killings

Meanwhile, Clark blamed Milosevic for what Western leaders have described as a brutal campaign of "ethnic cleansing" to rid Kosovo of ethnic Albanians.

"He had the authority to stop everything that started," Clark said. "He started the slaughter on the ground, even before the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) verifiers had departed.

"He had a well-organized plan and he pursued it in a criminal and certainly an inhumane and tragic manner. And now that everybody is on the ground here, we're finding more and more evidence of this."

Milosevic and four top Yugoslav and Serb officials have been charged with war crimes by a U.N. tribunal at The Hague.

Dozens of scientists and crime scene experts from the FBI arrived Wednesday in Kosovo to gather and identify evidence at a two suspected war-crimes sites in Djakovica. The sites in western Kosovo are believed to contain 26 bodies.

Solana tries to reassure Serbs

FBI forensic experts began gathering evidence at two sites in Djakovica

Solana urged Serbs fearing retribution from ethnic Albanians to remain in Kosovo, saying the Kosovo peacekeeping force, or KFOR, would protect them.

"Now KFOR's role is to provide a secure environment for the rebuilding of Kosovo. For the re-establishment of law and order, the safe return of all refugees to their homes, for social and economic reconstruction and for war crimes and atrocities," Solana said.

He said he told Serb political and religious leaders: "There is no need for anyone to leave Kosovo. KFOR will look after you. Stay and give peace a chance."

In other developments:

• Solana said the Russian government told him Wednesday night that Moscow has agreed to have Russian forces join the NATO mission and are to arrive shortly.
• Next week, NATO forces and humanitarian workers will begin the organized return of ethnic Albanian refugees forced from their homes during the NATO air campaign. They will provide food, water, transportation and security for convoys.
• Jackson said the airport in Pristina, which was taken over by about 200 Russian soldiers in a surprise move before NATO peacekeepers began entering Kosovo, should be in full operation again in about a week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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