EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Friday, April 2, 1999-16:54CST

CRISIS NEWS BRIEFS

BELGIUM (EmergencyNet News) - NATO said on Friday that Yugoslav ethnic cleansing in Kosovo had forced more than 634,000 Albanians, or one third of the province's original population, to flee their homes over the past year of conflict. Serb paramilitaries were continuing what NATO called a campaign of terrorizing ethnic Albanians and security forces were taking advantage of the situation to "loot and pillage."

MACEDONIA (EmergencyNet News) - Thousands more ethnic Albanian refugees flooding in from Kosovo swamped neighboring Macedonia and Albania on Friday, raising fears for the stability of both Balkan countries.

SERBIA (EmergencyNet News) - Serbia said on Friday it had begun collecting evidence for criminal proceedings against three U.S. soldiers seized by the Yugoslav army. The news came despite what appeared to be a strong warning from POTUS that the three should be returned to the United States and not put on trial.

SERBIA (EmergencyNet News) - Yugoslav Defense Minister Pavle Bulatovic said Friday his country was prepared to hand over parts of the U.S. F-117 stealth fighter that crashed in Yugoslavia last Saturday to Russia.

From the ERRI Watch Center

SERBIA (EmergencyNet News) - NATO warplanes struck deep inside of Serbia on Friday as Yugoslavia began court proceedings against three captured U.S. soldiers and . miles-long lines of refugees were reported backed up at Kosovo's borders.

The state-run Tanjug news agency reported that Serb officials began gathering evidence against the American soldiers captured Wednesday near the Kosovo-Macedonia border. It was not clear whether the soldiers appeared in the Pristina court. The investigating judge said court proceedings had begun and that "more detailed information will be known Saturday." Judge Jovica Jovanovic did not say how long the preliminary phase would last or whether the three would eventually be charged.

In Belgrade, one of the country's most prominent lawyers, Toma Fila who is not directly involved in the case, said the soldiers could be charged with "waging aggression," which carries a 15-year prison term. The United States says a Yugoslav court-martial of the three would violate international law.

NATO bombardment of targets in Yugoslavia continued for a 10th day, though it was deterred by what officials called poor weather that prevented some planes from carrying out missions. At a NATO briefing on Friday in Brussels, Belgium, briefers showed video tape of bombs destroying buildings on what was described as Yugoslav airfields and military bases. One scene showed a missile zeroing in on a police base.

Some refugees have told reporters in Albania that Yugoslav forces vacated many garrisons before the air campaign began and that in at least some cases NATO was destroying empty buildings. NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said the air strikes were methodically harming the Yugoslav and Serb forces, such as cutting off fuel supplies to prevent them from deploying as they wish.

NATO missiles hit an army barracks on Friday in the town of Vranje in southeastern Serbia.  Initial reports said there were no casualties at the barracks, located in a populated area.

Tanjug said NATO jets struck targets near the western Kosovo town of Klina, 30 miles west of the provincial capital of Pristina. It was the first reported attack near Klina, located along a major road junction used by Serb forces. At least eight cruise missiles were reported fired from U.S. ships in the Adriatic at about midnight Thursday.

U.S. officials confirmed on Friday that B-1 Lancer bombers flew missions against Yugoslavia for the first time on Thursday night. No details on their targets were provided.

Shea told reporters that 36,500 ethnic Albanians were forced out of Kosovo on Thursday, compared to 21,000 the day before, causing a refugee crisis he described as "extremely grave, getting graver by the hour." Shea said he wanted to ask Yugoslav authorities: "Where are all the Albanian men?" Some reports say the men are being herded into camps, stadiums and even being used as human shields.

Weather experts said on Friday that unsettled weather over the Balkans could continue to hamper NATO's bombing campaign during the Easter weekend. Cloud cover has caused constant problems for the NATO force. Friday night was expected to be partly cloudy, but there may be some fog near dawn. Rain is expected for Saturday.

In Washington, senior defense officials said on Friday that the Pentagon may is likely to add an aircraft carrier to the Yugoslavia theater. Defense Secretary William Cohen was said to be still weighing the decision but several officials speaking on condition of anonymity said it was likely he would order the USS Theodore Roosevelt to the Adriatic Sea. The Norfolk, Va.-based carrier is due to enter the western Mediterranean on Saturday.

The Roosevelt, carrying about 75 warplanes and accompanied by four ships armed with cruise missiles, is officially scheduled to transit the Mediterranean and take up station in the Persian Gulf. If Cohen gives the order, the carrier instead will stay in the Adriatic to join the fight against Yugoslavia. The addition of a carrier battle group to NATO's Operation Allied Force would mark a significant expansion of the U.S. commitment to the war. It also would complicate Navy planning for other contingencies, since its carrier in the Persian Gulf -- the USS Enterprise, whose planes are flying patrols over Iraq -- is due to head back to the United States in mid-April.

Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said today that if the decision is made to keep the carrier in the Adriatic, another carrier would be sent to the Persian Gulf to replace the Enterprise. The only other U.S. carrier on deployment now is the USS Kitty Hawk, which covers commitments in Asia. Senior officials speaking on condition of anonymity said it was likely the Kitty Hawk will be sent to the Gulf to replace the Enterprise, thus creating an potential gap in U.S. carrier presence in the Pacific.

A list of national contributions by NATO allies to the war effort against Yugoslavia. Also included are their respective defense budgets and what these budgets are as a percentage of the gross national product. The sources for this report are NATO and the CIA. Canada's contributions to were not immediately available at the time of this report.

BELGIUM: Ten F-16 jetfighters.

BRITAIN: Three E3 Sentries electronic surveillance aircraft; Three Tristar air-to-air refueling tankers; 12 Harrier GR7s jetfighters; Four Tornado GR1s bombers; One 1 submarine, HMS Splendid; OneFrigate, HMS Iron Duke; Soldiers in Macedonia.

CZECH REPUBLIC: The Czechs, who joined NATO only last month, offered a military hospital, but no soldiers or military equipment.

DENMARK: Four F-16s, two on standby. There are 105 Royal Danish Air Force staff in Italy, including 12 pilots.

FRANCE: A total of 40 planes, including 19 Mirage jetfighters, two Jaguar jets, two C-135-FR refueling planes, an E3F radar surveillance aircraft and two Puma helicopters, as well as 14 Super-Etandard jet fighters are on the Foch aircraft carrier; One nuclear submarine, the Amethyste; One anti-aircraft frigate Cassard; On the ground, 2,400 French troops are part of the NATO force in Macedonia.

GERMANY: Four Tornado jets equipped with radar to intercept and jam signals from enemy radar-guided missiles; 3,000 troops in Tetevo, Macedonia, in preparation for possible peacekeeping mission.

GREECE: Greece's northern port of Salonica was a major transit point for NATO forces assembling in the republic of Macedonia. And Athens has offered more facilities and possible troop contributions, but only if a Kosovo peace agreement is signed and an international force (KFOR or other) is dispatched to the province.

HUNGARY: A new member, Hungary has stated its readiness to contribute medical teams and it is allowing the use of Hungarian airspace and airport facilities.

ICELAND: To our knowledge, Iceland has not contributed any equipment to the war effort.

ITALY: 42 warplanes. Italy also lets the allies use 11 bases on Italian soil from which warplanes take off.

LUXEMBOURG: The Grand Duchy has one NATO AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) plane which is registered to Luxembourg and is involved in the operation.

THE NETHERLANDS: The Dutch have 16 F-16s in the area and two DC-10 refueling planes. It also has one warship in the Mediterranean.

NORWAY: Norway has contributed six F-16s and 180 personnel. It is the 338 squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force's Oerlander Air Base. They are based in Grazzanise, Italy and only fly missions in daylight. The Norwegian Supreme Defense Command said four of the six aircraft are operative at any time.

POLAND: We can find no record that Poland, which just joined NATO, is contributing any weapons or soldiers.

PORTUGAL: Portugal has 3 F-16 fighter jets and one C-130 Hercules cargo plane. It also has 50 staff, including pilots, mechanics.

SPAIN: Spain has four F-18 and one Hercules plane in NATO's Kosovo campaign.

TURKEY: Turkey has sent 11 F-16s based in northern Italy.

UNITED STATES: The Pentagon has deployed more than 230 aircraft, including F-117s, B-52s and B-2s, numerous fighter planes; four warships with Tomahawk missiles and two attack submarines with Tomahawks.

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