EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Saturday, April 3, 1999-09:32CST

CRISIS NEWS BRIEFS

BOSNIA (EmergencyNet News) - The NATO-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia said on Saturday it had closed down the railway running through Bosnia between Serbia and Montenegro to prevent any Yugoslav military movement there. The NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) said in a statement: "This action was taken as a prudent, precautionary measure to deny military forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia entry into and transit through Bosnia-Herzegovina."

ITALY (EmergencyNet News) - The United Nations food aid agency, the World Food Program, Saturday prepared to launch an airlift of emergency food rations to tens of thousands of refugees from Kosovo in Albania and Macedonia during the weekend. A spokesman for the Rome-based agency, said the first airlift of 41 tons of high-protein biscuits was due to leave the Italian city of Pisa Saturday for Tirana, the Albanian capital. He said it was imperative that helicopter shuttles be organized to fly the food to the worst-affected areas.

MACEDONIA (EmergencyNet News) - Macedonia announced on Saturday it could no longer accept more Kosovo refugees and called on its neighbors and the European Union to help shelter a massive wave of ethnic Albanians. Saying its fragile democracy and economy were at stake because of the influx, Macedonia's Security Council said its army would prevent the illegal entry of any more refugees. The announcement came as the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the number of refugees packed in a small field in a river valley in the no-man's land straddling the border with Yugoslavia reached 65,000 today.

SERBIA (EmergencyNet News) - NATO missiles destroyed police and Interior Ministrry buildings in the heart of Belgrade early Saturday, the first time the center of the Yugoslav capital had come under air attack since World War Two. A series of explosions sent shockwaves through the city. Minutes later tall columns of fire wree seen rising into the night sky.

WASHINGTON (EmergencyNet News) - U.S. military officials said on Friday they were preparing to step up humanitarian aid to Kosovo refugees, with an immediate shipment of 500,000 meals to Albania and tents, blankets and other aid to follow. The meals would go to Tirana, the Albanian capital.

From the ERRI Watch Center

SERBIA (EmergencyNet News) - It was an eventful night in Belgrade overnight when NATO missiles flew in and destroyed police buildings in the heart of the Serbian capital. It was the first time the center of the Yugoslav capital had come under air attack since World War Two. NATO called the targets, two large Interior Ministry buildings on either side of a main street running through the city, the "brain" of Belgrade's operations in Kosovo. A very upset Serbian Interior Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic rushed to the area to see what kind of message NATO left for him.

Rumors that the buildings would be hit had been circulating for some time. There were no reports of casualties. It reportedly took firefighters about four hours to bring the huge blazes caused by the cruise missiles under control. When dawn came up, all that was left of the buildings were just smoldering skeletons. People gathered around them in awe and just stared in total silence.

The headquarters of the Yugoslav army's general staff, further up the same street, is another rumored target. Perhaps it will be hit tonight. The state news agency Tanjug also said several other targets had been hit including the village of Leskovac in central Serbia. Serbian radio said the town of Irig, south of Novi Sad, had not been bombed as originally reported.

The NATO-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia said on Saturday it had closed down the railway running through Bosnia between Serbia and Montenegro to prevent any Yugoslav military movement there. The NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) said in a statement: "This action was taken as a prudent, precautionary measure to deny military forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia entry into and transit through Bosnia-Herzegovina."

An SFOR spokesman declined to say whether Yugoslav forces had tried to use the six mile stretch of the railway that runs through Bosnia. The railway is roughly 50 miles east of Sarajevo, near the town of Rijeka.

-- The missiles came to prominence in the Gulf War of 1991, astonishing the world with their accuracy in attacks on Baghdad.

-- The missiles give an attacker the capability to press a button from up to 1,000 miles away and know that the weapon will strike within a few feet of a selected point.

-- The 20-foot long, hill-hopping missiles fly at more than 700 mph and close enough to the ground to evade most radar or air defense systems.

-- Each missile carries 700lbs of explosives and is fitted with an on-board computer which matches the terrain over which it is flying with a contour map of its route which is stored in its memory.

-- The map is provided by satellite pictures, while the ability to recognize the route depends on the GPS -- or Global Positioning Satellite -- system which highlights landmarks such as crossroads and buildings.

-- The missiles have been significantly improved since the Gulf War.

-- Where accuracy rates in the Desert Storm operations were only 50 percent, the new missiles can achieve 90 percent hits on their targets.

-- The missiles have also been fitted with an improved warhead containing titanium, so they are far more effective at breaching armor and penetrating through to their targets.

-- Tomahawk cruise missiles can now be launched from ships or the B52 bombers.

Click here for a previous article on the technical specifications on the Tomahawk cruise missile.

 © Copyright, EmergencyNet NEWS Service, 1999. All Rights Reserved. Redistribution without permission is prohibited by law.