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09-15-2009, 04:26 PM
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| My Rank: PRIVATE FIRST CLASS Poster Rank:4849 Female Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 56 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Quoted: 1 Post(s)
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Bridge Over the River Velika Morava
Human rights groups confirm widespread civilian casualties from NATO attack As noted by Amnesty International, the precise number of civilians who died as a result of NATO air attacks is not known. Yugoslav estimates of civilian deaths are certainly contradictory, but some official public estimates put the number of civilian deaths in "the thousands." The most detailed official account of the damage caused by the NATO bombing is NATO Crimes in Yugoslavia (The White Book), which is published by the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is the most detailed official account of the damage caused by the NATO bombing. It lists around 400 civilians killed in over 40 incidents involving civilian fatalities, although it seems clear from the text of The White Book that it does not represent a complete list of all civilians killed in the NATO bombing. Reuters reported on 23 March 2000 a new Yugoslav government estimate of 1,002 army and police known to have either died or gone missing. The government did not make clear whether this was only during the air strikes. According to Human Rights Watch, between 489 and 528 Yugoslav civilians were killed in 90 incidents. NATO's actions were illegal even under it's own treaty - which does not permit it to undertake aggressive military action without a UN mandate. Thus, Amnesty International said that the way in which NATO conducted it's illegal Blitzkrieg against Yugoslavia resulted in the forces ordered in by both the British Prime Minister and the U.S. President committing a number of serious war crimes including the unlawful killing of civilians. Here is just one of those stories: Nato issued a statement on Sunday, confirming four planes had attacked the bridge over the Velika Morava river at Varvarin. All "precision-guided ordnance" had hit the target, it said. The alliance described the bridge as a "designated and legitimate target". Nato spokesman Jamie Shea said: "Nato does not attack civilian targets, we attack exclusively military targets and take every precaution to avoid inflicting harm on civilians." Nato is understood to have struck at 1pm local time (1100GMT) on Sunday. Tanjug said the area would have been crowded with people attending the town market. Witnesses said four cars fell into the River Velika Morava during the first waves of attacks and rescuers who went to help victims were hit in a second wave of bombings. They said the area was littered with pools of blood and human body parts. |
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#2
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09-16-2009, 03:37 AM
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| My Rank: PRIVATE FIRST CLASS Poster Rank:4849 Female Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 56 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Quoted: 1 Post(s)
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Re: Bridge Over the River Velika Morava
Apologies if it appears that I am politically orientated, the last thing i am is a former Yogoslavian! An impartial view would suggest that the bridge was destroyed by NATO forces as a priority target and a certain degree of collateral damage was deemed acceptable (hence the civilian casualties). It could be considered the ultimate nemesis of former Yugoslav military leader Milosovich for his crimes against the innocent civilians of Kosovo. |