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March 25
1. In a 5:10 p.m. attack on an unidentified target in the Rozaje area of Montenegro, near the Kosovo border between Besnika and Njegus villages, Senad Dacic (16) is killed. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail (such as photographs, investigator's reports, autopsy reports) of the incident in its White Book.86
April 1
2. In a 4:55-5:30 a.m. attack on the "Marshal Tito" Petrovaradin (Varadinski) Bridge (the so-called "old bridge") across the Danube in Novi Sad in Vojvodina, one civilian is fatally injured. Oleg Nasov (29) dies in late May as a result of injuries sustained in the April 1 attack. A building of the University of Novi Sad is also damaged87 and the Yugoslav government claims "severe damage" to the roof structure of the Fortress of Petrovaradin and to the Petrovaradin Monastery of the Church of St. Juraj (built in 1714).88
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4515242/E01951302)89 on August 15, and inspected the damage. Though initial reports stated that there were no casualties in the attack,90 a posted death notice for Nasov located on the bridge announced that his funeral took place on May 28. The attack, according to U.S. Air Force sources, was undertaken by a B-2 bomber, firing satellite guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs).
April 2
3. In a 1:30-2:00 a.m. attack on an unidentified target in the area of Orahovac in Nogavac (Negavac in Albanian) village in Kosovo, four civilians are killed and twelve are injured. Hysni Elsani (20), Hysen Ziniqi (29), Qazim Krasniqi (30), and Mahmut Krasniqi (age unknown) are identified as killed.91 The Yugoslav government claims another seven are killed and five injured. Tanjug and the Yugoslav press reports that two ethnic Albanians from Negavac (Nogavac) village are killed and sixteen are wounded. Tanjug states that six are injured by cluster bomb fragments, including two children, according to a local doctor.92 Another report states that the village near Orahovac was bombed and that six Albanian civilians were wounded. After being hospitalized in the Pristina medical center, one dies.93
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the incident from the Ministry of Health.94 There is no corroboration of the use of cluster bombs in this attack.
4. In a 2:00 a.m. attack on an unidentified target in the Kursumlija area in southern Serbia, one civilian is killed and another is wounded. The house of the brothers Stepanovic in Samokovo village (Mt. Samokovo) is hit, killing VucinaStepanovic (44) and wounding another Stepanovic brother.95 Bombs also land near the St. Bogorodica monastery (at the mouth of the rivers Kosanica and Toplica), in Pepeljevac village, and near the St. Nikola monastery.96
Human Rights Watch received photo documentation of the death from the Ministry of Health.97
April 4
5. In a 3:17 a.m. attack on the Sloboda factory in Cacak in central Serbia, one civilian is killed and seven are wounded. Mileva Kuveljic (73) dies in her house at 99 Ratka Mitrovica street. A number of other houses situated near the town's roundabout are also damaged in the attack. The kindergarten "Bosko Buha" is also reported damaged.98
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the death from the Ministry of Health.99
6. In a 4:29 a.m. attack on the Pancevo oil refinery in Vojvodina, just north of Belgrade, three civilians are killed and three are wounded. Mirko Dmitrovic (39) and Dusko Bogosavljev (50), factory workers, are instantly killed.100 A third civilian who was seriously injured in the April 4 attack dies six days later, according to refinery officials.
The attack is the first on the refinery. The "Energana" (energy plant or electrical transformer) at the refinery is the specific target of attack. It is hit with two weapons.101
Human Rights Watch visited the NIS-Petrol and Oil Company Pancevo (N4449719/E02041436) on August 17, inspected the damage from this initial attack and other attacks, and verified the casualties with authorities at the refinery.102 The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.103 Human Rights Watch concludes, based upon the target and the extent of damage at the refinery, that a precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack on April 4 and in subsequent attacks.
7. In a 4:35 a.m. attack on the New Belgrade Heating Plant, one civilian is killed. Night watchman Slobodan Trisic (53) is killed while making his rounds. Six oil storage tanks are hit and a seventh is damaged, and the pump house and pouring station on the Sava river are also destroyed.104
Human Rights Watch visited the site ("Beogradske elektrane" on 11 Savski nasip street, N4447904/E02024721) on August 5, inspected the damage, and verified the casualties with authorities at the plant. Authorities provided details relating to the attack and the civilian death. Remains of cruise missiles reportedly used to attack the plant were on display.The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the death from the Ministry of Health.105
April 5
8. In a 9:35-9:40 a.m. attack on the Aleksinac "Deligrad" military barracks in southeastern Serbia, ten civilians are killed and another thirty are wounded.106 Immediately killed are: Snezana Miladinovic (40), Velimir Stankovic (52), Ljubica Miladinivic (63), Dragomir Miladinovic (67), Bogomir Arsic (69), Jovan Radojicic (75), Sofija Radojicic (80), Radojka Jovanovic (86), Vojislav Jovanovic (92), and Gvozden Milivojevic (93).107 Two civilians subsequently die from injuries sustained: Marina Paovic (26) and Dragica Miladinovic (age unknown).108
A weapon or weapons fall about 600m from the barracks. Damage is reported in Dusan Trivunca street (house numbers 56-62), between the Angrokolonijal commercial enterprise and the EMPA illumination and electrical products enterprise, and at Vuka Karadzica street, where four buildings were destroyed (house numbers 23-27). A crater was also caused on Petra Zeca street, and on a lot between "Betonjerka"enterprise and the "Sumatovac" driving school. Damage was caused on Vojske Jugoslavije and Kneza Milosa streets. Window panes on buildings in the center of Aleksinac were shattered, and tiles were blown off of several buildings near where the missiles fell.109 Yugoslav authorities also report two explosions inside the Deligrad barracks and a third twenty-five meters from the barracks fence.110
On April 6, Tanjug reported that sixteen private houses and more than 400 apartments, including three buildings with eighty apartments, were damaged or destroyed. Civilian defense headquarters commander Zoran Babovic said seven bombs fell in the center of the town. One bomb also fell near the Belgrade-Nis highway, he said. He reported twenty injured civilians, including thirteen in hospitals in Nis and Aleksinac.111
NATO expressed regret for the loss of life and called the incident an "accident of war." Commenting on the incident, Air Commodore David Wilby said: "It is possible that one of our weapons fell short of the target. Despite our meticulous and careful pre-attack planning, the law of statistics will, at some stage, go against us and we will be exposed to technical defect." NATO further says that the intended target was a military barracks and artillery unit nearby.112 Testifying before Congress on April 14, 1999, Gen. Henry Shelton described this incident, which the United States labels the "first" incident of civilian deaths: "When I was in Aviano last week, we had just had what was at that point the first incident, I think, of a bomb missing the intended target. Actually three bombs went in, two hit dead center, one fell a little bit short."113
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4332375/E02142482) on August 11, inspected the damage, and took eyewitness testimony. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.114
9. In an 11:00 p.m. attack on the "1300 Corporals" and "Simo Pogacerevic" military barracks in Vranje in southeastern Serbia, two civilians are killed and twenty-three injured. Taxi driver Goran Eminovic (33) and Milica Grujic (68) are killedwhen a weapon intended for the 1300 Corporals barracks falls near the Vranje bus station, not far from the barracks.115 Doctors say that six people have been seriously wounded but that their wounds are not life threatening. Slightly wounded are seventeen people, of which eleven will receive further hospital treatment.116 A number of civilian facilities are damaged in this and a previous attack on April 2, including the DIV cigarette factory, the printing house Nova Jugoslavija, and the Jedinstvo bus station.117
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4233135/E0215455) on August 12, inspected the damage and took eyewitness testimony. The civilian objects reported as being damaged are all near the 1300 Corporals barracks, which appeared to have been extensively attacked. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.118
April 7
10. In 12:30 a.m. attacks on targets in and around Pristina in Kosovo, nine civilians are killed and eight are seriously wounded.119 Adem Berisha, Radovan Aleksic, Dejan Vitkovic, and an unidentified woman die in the vicinity of the Pristina Post Office and telephone exchange. Five members of the Gashi family (father Mesud, mother Dijana, and children Dea, Rea, and Demis) are killed in their home on Kosovska street.120 Dejan Vitkovic is killed in front of his house at 12 Meta Barjaktarija street.
Two weapons land in residential areas, 200-300 meters away from the telephone exchange, at the Dardanija apartment building, on Zanatska street, Meta Barjaktarija street, and Kosovska street.121 There is also damage to the former Provincial Assembly building, the Republic Pension and Disability Fund building (the provincial and municipal insurance company), the National Bank, and the "Grmija" department store, the latter of which was observed by Human Rights Watch. One weapon also reportedly explodes near an Orthodox Christian cemetery.122 Tanjug reports rescue efforts were hampered by unexploded cluster bombs,123 but there is no evidence presented in the White Book of the use of cluster bombs, and it is highly unlikely that cluster bombs were employed to attack the urban telephone exchange.
Reported targets in Pristina on April 7 include the Slatina airfield; a Beopetrol depot in the Devet Jugovica suburb (ten kilometers from Pristina); the downtown Pristina telephone exchange; and the Grmija hill transmitter (three kilometers from Pristina).124
On April 9, NATO admits damage to civilian homes in the strike on the telephone exchange, regretting "unintended damage or loss of civilian life." Air commodore David Wilby said that one of three bombs which targeted the Main Postal Office hit a residential area. "Careful investigation of the picture showed that bomb exploded some 200 to 300 meters from the target, on something that looks like a small residential area," Wilby says.125
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.126
11. In an attack on the Nis airfield, one civilian is killed and twenty are injured. Miroslav Stojkovic is killed at the MIN industry complex. The civilian is reported as "the first civilian victim in Nis since NATO started attacks."127
Human Rights Watch visited the site on August 13, inspected the damage, collected documentation, met with civil defense officials, and took eyewitness testimony. The MIN complex is located at 12. Februara Boulevard; its rear is some 300 meters from the airfield perimeter. Nis civil defense officials reported that eleven weapons were fired against Nis on April 7, including four "missiles" and six "guided bombs." One additional unexploded bomb was reportedly recovered.
April 8
12. In an 4:00-4:10 a.m. attack on telecommunications and/or air defense facilities on Tornik peak in the Zlatibor mountains in central Serbia, three civilians are killed. They are forest ranger Milenko Savic (25) and guards Nedjo Urosevic (31) and Radoje Marjanovic (34).128 The "Tornik" ski resort and a training facility of the Medical Institute "Cigota" incorporating a children's recreation center and an outpatient clinic are hit. The site is visited shortly afterwards by Judge Momcilo Krivokapic and Deputy Attorney-General Stevan Zrnic.129 A government report at the time said, "Almost all objects on 2,000 square meters surface are completely destroyed."130
Human Rights Watch visited the site on August 7, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. Eyewitnesses said that army soldiers were occupying homes and hotels in the area, but that the local population knew little about the functions and activities of the army in the area during the war. The site of the civilian deaths (N4340272/E01938755), a ski lodge at the bottom of the lifts, is more than 2,000 meters from the telecommunications tower on Tornik peak, which was also bombed. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.131
13. In a 12:42-12:50 p.m. attack on the Kursulina street Army barracks in the Serbian town of Cuprija, one woman is killed and five civilians are injured. Zlatka Lukic (54) is killed. Houses are destroyed and damaged on Kursulina street, Milana Toplice street, Vojske Jugoslavije Boulevard, as well as surrounding areas. There is also damage to schools, stores, and a sports hall.132
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4356008/E02122130) on August 14, inspected the damaged and interviewed eyewitnesses. The barracks are located on the Morava river, right outside the center of town and about 800 meters from the locations where the civilian deaths occurred. Damage to the sports hall, office of the electrical distribution board, and residences was observed. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
April 10
14. In an 11:55 p.m. attack on unidentified targets in the area between Podujevo and Kursumlija on the Serbian-Kosovo border, five are killed and some three are injured near the villages of Merdare and Mirovac. Killed were Bozina Tosovic (30) and his one-year-old daughter Bojana, while Marija Tosovic, his wife, was seriously wounded. Dragan Bubalo (31) from Podujevo, Goran Djukic from Ploce, and Srdjan Cvetkovic are also killed.133 Politika names five killed: Bojana Tosovic (eleven months), Bozina Tosovic, Dragan Bubalo, Goran Djukic, and Srdjan Cvetkovic.134 According to the chief of orthopedic surgery at the Djakovica hospital, forty-three people injured at Bistrzin and Meja were admitted to the hospital on April 14.135
Yugoslav press accounts state that cluster bombs are responsible for the killings.136 Cluster bomb submunitions are later observed near the road from Podujevo to Kursumlija, near the village Merdare.137 According to a New York Times report, "in Merdare, NATO bombs and anti-personnel cluster bombs demolished four houses early Sunday morning, killing five....A number of pigs and cows were killed and injured....In the fields, there were hundreds of small holes in the earth from detonations, and small green nylon parachutes from what appeared to be NATO anti-personnel cluster bombs, covering an area of about 300 square yards. Large pieces of green painted metal, with yellow stripes, perfectly broken open as if on a seam, lay about the yard. There were large pieces of formed yellow plastic foam and light aluminum containers, with fans like whirligigs, that appeared to have held the small parachutes, with explosives attached...."138
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. This is the first confirmed instance of civilian deaths resulting from cluster bomb use. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.139
April 12
15. In the evening, a four carriage civilian passenger train (No. 393) traveling the Belgrade to Ristovac line (on the Macedonian border) is hit as it crosses over the Grdelica Klisura gorge (Bistrica) bridge on the Juzna Morava river near Leskovac in southeastern Serbia, killing twenty. Killed are: Branimir Stanijanovic (6), Ivan Markovic (26), Ana Markovic (26), Jasmina Veljkovic (28), Simeon Todorov (31), Zoran Jovanovic (35), Petar Mladenovic (37), Verka Mladenovic (37), Divna Stanijanovic (41), Vidosav Stanijanovic (45), Radomir Jovanovic (45), and Svetomir Petkovic (65). Five others' remains are unidentified, and three persons are reported missing.140 Tanjug reports that about fifty civilian passengers are killed in the attack.141
An AGM-130 electro-optically guided precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the F-15E Strike Eagle attack. NATO apologizes for an "uncanny accident" and says that it had targeted the bridge because it was an important supply route into Kosovo.142 Showing video footage of the attack, Gen. Clark says: "You can see if you were focusing right on your job as a pilot how suddenly that train appeared. It was really unfortunate." Later Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre states that "one of our electro-optically guided bombs homed in on a railroad bridge just when a passenger train raced to the aim point. We never wanted to destroy that train or kill its occupants. We did want to destroy the bridge and we regret this accident."143
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4252594/E02205255) on August 12, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. It also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.144
16. A "Ford Escort" civilian car traveling on the Pristina-Kosovo Polje road is hit at 2:25 p.m. local time near the Agricultural School, killing two. A third civilian dies in the Pristina Hospital.145
17. The Yugoslav government reports that the Djakovica-Klina road in Kosovo is struck with cluster bombs at 6:30 p.m. and that "several people were killed and wounded."146 Human Rights Watch could find no authoritative source identifying the dead. Civil defense officials stated that five civilians died.147
April 13
18. One civilian is reported killed in the Kicma settlement near Pristina in Kosovo: Sefcet Trnova (22). There are reports of attacks at the same time on the Slatina airfield, the Pristina bus station, as well as targets in the Ajvalija and Gracanica suburbs of Pristina.148
April 14
19. Between 1:30-3:30 p.m., a refugee convoy is bombed along a twelve mile stretch of road between Djakovica and Decane in Kosovo, killing seventy-three individuals and injuring thirty-six The bombing incidents occur near the villages of Bistrazin, Gradis, Madanaj and Meja in numerous different locations. On April 14, Yugoslav authorities claimed fifty-six dead and thirty-six wounded. On April 15, four additional bodies were discovered. Later the total was increased even more; Yugoslav authorities in the White Book state that seventy-three were killed and thirty-six were wounded. The Committee for Compiling Data on Crimes Against Humanity and International Law says eighty-two dead and fifty injured.149
The identified dead are: Ferat Bajrami, Imer Cela, Sali Gjokaj, Skendi Gjokaj, Martin Hasanaj, Lek Hasanaj, Ram Maloku, Arton Maloku, Tazija Pajaziti, Vjollca Pajaziti (18), Violeta Pajaziti (16), Nevrija Pajaziti, Hasan Pajaziti, Flora Pajaziti, Adem Seljmani, Besarde Smajli, Fikrije Sulja, Nerdjivane Zeqiri, eight members of the Ali Ibraj family, four members of the Spend Nuraj family, four members of the Fatmir Nuraj family, and three members of the Sejdi Nuraj family.150 Tanjug reports three Serbian "policemen who were securing the safe passage for the convoy" were also killed.151
The incident ignites a major controversy about NATO bombings. The Pentagon suggests Serb security forces might have attacked civilians after a NATO strike on military vehicles in the convoy. Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon says NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark had received reports that "after the convoy was hit, military people got out and attacked civilians." "The pilots state they attacked only military vehicles," NATO says, adding that the "reported incident will be fully investigated once all mission details have been reviewed." There are also various reports emanating from NATO spokesman and militaries of Serbian deception in placing dead civilians at the site of the bombing. German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping is among those who put the blame on Yugoslav forces.152
On April 15, NATO acknowledges that it bombed civilian vehicles by mistake: "Following a preliminary investigation, NATO confirms that apparently one of its planes dropped a bomb on a civilian vehicle traveling with a convoy yesterday." NATO says the attack was made because military vehicles were identified in the area. "Serbian police or army vehicles might have been in or near the convoy," NATO spokesmen state.
On the same day, the AFP correspondent in Kosovo, Aleksandar Mitic, Los Angeles Times correspondent Paul Watson, and two Greek television crew are allowed to go to the scene of the bombing. They find, according to the AFPdispatch, "bodies charred or blown to pieces, tractors reduced to twisted wreckage and houses in ruins." According to Mitic's report, two convoys, one to the north and one to the south of Djakovica, were hit. He quotes one refugee as saying the groups had been bombed three or four times, "the planes circling overhead as if they were following us." The Los Angeles Times reports small craters and bomb remnants found at the scene with U.S. markings, and reports eyewitness accounts of explosions in the air (which the newspaper says indicates the use of cluster bomblets), extensive shrapnel dispersion, and the burned bodies of refugees. Tractors pulling the refugees on wagons were destroyed, suggesting, the Times says, that the infrared heat-seeking "sensors" on the bomblets (sic) mistook the tractors for tanks. Cluster bomb remnants, small craters and destroyed tractors are reportedly found at Meja, about three miles west of Djakovica, and also about nine miles away, east of Djakovica.153
Human Rights Watch spoke with two witnesses to the April 14 bombing in Meja, one of whom was seriously injured. Safet Shalaj from Junik had a large scar on his back and leg due to his injuries from the NATO bombing. He said:
It was April 14, around 12:45 p.m. There were seven or eight tractors and some cars. NATO bombed us. It was a civilian convoy with two or three pitzgowers in front and the [Yugoslav] army behind us burning houses. After the bombing they took us into a house with Serbian police. In my tractor, fourteen people died. I'm not angry with NATO. Only that they can now help me find my children.154
Kole Hasanaj from Meja told Human Rights Watch:
NATO bombed the convoy on Wednesday, April 14, around 2:00 p.m. It was a convoy from Junik. When the aircraft were in the sky then the military vehicles mixed with the column. I counted twenty-three killed people from the tractors. There were others around, maybe twenty-seven or twenty-eight. NATO bombed five times. No military vehicles were damaged. After the bombing, they [Serb forces] went into the hills. The Albanians stayed in my house for about three hours.155
On April 16, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea and Brig. Gen. Giuseppe Marini state that "in one case and one only, we have proof of civilian loss of life. Otherwise, we are sure that we targeted military vehicles." NATO admits that the pilot of a U.S. F-16 fired on what he believed to be military trucks, and expresses "deep regret." There is confirmation that fragments of Mk 82 500 lb. unguided bombs found at the scene were indeed used.156
On April 19, a new version of events emerges. NATO admits that about a dozen planes were involved in attacks on more than one convoy, dropping a total of nine bombs. NATO makes public a voice recording of one of the pilots responsible for bombing the first convoy, who says the vehicles in question are "of a military type." As for a second convoy, NATO claims it had been targeted because its "pace and formation were of a typically military nature."
"This is a very complicated scenario and we will never be able to establish all the exact details," says U.S. Brig. Gen. Daniel Leaf, commander of the 31st Wing at Aviano, Italy, where the F-16s originated. Leaf suggests that after NATO aircraft attacked military vehicles, Serb forces attacked refugees in the rear with cluster bombs and grenades. He denies that NATO used cluster bombs in an attacks in the area.157
The news media later reveals that one of the U.S. pilots responsible for the bombings had been warned by a British pilot that the convoy included civilians. NATO later admits that the recording made public on April 19 had no connection with the bombing of the convoys, but was just an example of pilot "chatter."
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.158
20. In 2:25-3:30 p.m. attacks on an unidentified bridge or on a military convoy near the suburban quarter of Pavlovac south of Vranje in southeastern Serbia, two civilians are killed and at least one is wounded. Milica Stojanovic (12) and Mijalko Trajkovic (65) are killed.
According to the Yugoslav government, they are killed by cluster bombs.159 It says that Pavlovac houses are hit by cluster bombs. "Several people were killed and gravely wounded," the Yugoslav government says. Damage is reported to a bridge on the Presevo-Vranje motorway, with civilian facilities along the motorway also damaged.160 Another report says that the Vranje-Bujanovac road was targeted.161
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4229656/E02151770) on August 12, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. Eyewitnesses said that four weapons exploded next to the E-75 highway at about 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. on April 14. They speculated that a military convoy on the highway was the target. A highway bridge some one kilometer south of the site was also bombed at about the same time. There is no particular evidence of the use of cluster bombs, though it remains a possibility. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.162
April 15
21. The Yugoslav government reports that two "raids" are carried out with cluster bombs against targets in the village of Raljan, Presevo municipality in southern Serbia, and that eight "people" are killed in these attacks.163 It reports attacks between 11:00 a.m.-12:10 p.m. in the area of Vranje, Bijelo Polje, Presevo, Bujanovac, and Prohor Pcinjski.164
22. One civilian is killed at 2:20 p.m. near the Hotel "Baciste" in the Kopaonik mountains in southern Serbian during the collection and clearing of cluster bombs.165 Mladen Stanojevic is killed during the clearing process. The cluster bomb attack occurred at 12:40 a.m. on April 13.166
Human Rights Watch received photo documentation of the cluster bomb clearing and the death from the Ministry of Health.167
April 16
23. In an attack on an unidentified target, one civilian is killed and two are injured in Ribnice village near Vranje in southeastern Serbia. Irena Mitic (16) died on April 17 from wounds received on April 16.168
April 17
24. In a 2:15 a.m. attack on the Valjevo "Krusik" factory, one civilian is wounded and dies several days later. Milisav Micic (37) died several days after he was wounded in front of his house during "the second attack on Krusik," according to neighbors and eyewitnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch. According to the Yugoslav government, five "highly destructive missiles" hit the plant. One of the production lines was completely destroyed. Damage was also registered in the "Kolubara 2" residential quarter.169
Human Rights Watch visited the site on August 7, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses of the death.
25. In a 9:30-10:00 p.m. attack on the Batajnica airfield or airfield related air defenses west of Belgrade, Milica Rakic (3) is killed and another civilian is wounded.170 The girl was killed by shrapnel while in the bathroom on the second floor of her apartment (Flat no. 2) at 8 Dimitrije Lazareva-Rase street.171
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4453977/E02017362) on August 7, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. Evidence indicated that a weapon-possibly a cluster bomb submunition-exploded near the apartment building window. There have also been Yugoslav rumors that a cruise missile shot down by Yugoslav air defenses exploded in this neighborhood. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the death from the Ministry of Health.172
26. After a reported cluster bomb attack in the vicinity of the village of Kamena Glava, Urosevac municipality, in Kosovo at 3:30 p.m. on April 17, three civilians are injured. Two civilians subsequently die on April 18.173
April 19
27. In an 11:07 p.m. attack on the Nis airfield and Stefan Sindjelic military barracks in the southeastern Serbian city, one civilian is killed and between nine and eleven are reported wounded. Milen Milojkovic is killed at 5/17 Koste Vujinovica street.174 Tanjug reports that the "industrial area" of Nis to the east of the airfield is hit, killing one and injuring nine.175 The Yugoslav government reports damage to several houses in a Roma quarter, damage to the Duvanska Industrija Nis (DIN) tobacco production plant, the "Kopaonik" trade company (a general merchandise depot), a "cattle fodder silo," and the "Crveni krst" railway station, all east of the airfield.176 Other reports state damage is caused in the Sljaka (Saka) neighborhood just to the southeast of the airfield, and on Bujmirska, Lipovacka, and Sarajevska streets. A "huge" crater is left on Bujmirska street.177
Human Rights Watch visited the sites on August 13, inspected the damage, collected documentation, met with civil defense and DIN company officials, and took eyewitness testimony. The Stefan Sindjelic barracks is located at 12. Februara Boulevard, directly adjacent (to the southeast) of the DIN tobacco production plant. "Kopaonik" trade companyis across the street from the tobacco plant and between the barracks and the railway station. The railway station is between the Kopaonik company and the Nis airfield.
Nis civil defense officials stated that five weapons-four "missiles" and one "guided bomb"-were dropped in Nis on April 19. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. DIN also provided documentation of damage to the factory from a single weapon which landed some 100 meters outside the perimeters of the military barracks.178
April 21
28. In a 12:00 p.m. attack on an unidentified target near Djakovica in Kosovo, five civilians are killed and between sixteen and nineteen are wounded. Killed are: Ivan Ivancevic (7), brothers Davor (29) and Radivoje (27) Ularevic, Marko Ivanovic (4), and Gordana Ilic (75). Predrag Ilkic (5) is reported sent to the Pristina Hospital in critical condition. The "Majino (Majno) naselje" (Maja) refugee camp in the southern part of the town is hit in the attack. Nineteen other Serb refugees from Republika Srpska are in the Djakovica hospital, according to the Yugoslav government.179 According to the Yugoslav government, ten civilians are killed and sixteen are wounded.180 Tanjug reports five killed and sixteen wounded.181 A doctor at the Djakovica hospital told Human Rights Watch that nineteen civilians were admitted to the hospital after the attack on Majno naselje, which he said he thought was an agricultural company.182
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
April 22
29. In an afternoon attack on an unidentified target in the southern or southeastern suburban area of Vranje, one civilian is killed. Dalibor Tasic (17) is killed.183
April 23
30. In a 2:06-2:20 a.m. attack on the Radio Televizija Srbija (RTS) Studio on 1 Aberdareva street in central Belgrade, sixteen are killed and another sixteen are wounded. Killed are: technician Darko Stoimenovski (26), technician Nebojsa Stojanovic (27), security guard Dragorad Dragojevic (27), video mixer Ksenija Bankovic (28), make-up artist Jelica Munitlak (28), security guard Dejan Markovic (30), cameraman Aleksandar Deletic (31), technician Dragan Tasic (31), producer Slavisa Stevanovic (32), program designer Sinisa Medic (33), foreign programming specialist Ivan Stukalo (34), security officer Milan Joksimovic (47), program operator Branislav Jovanovic (50), set decorator Slobodan Jontic (54), mechanic Milovan Jankovic (59), and program director Tomislav Mitrovic (61) .184 The RTS initially reported that morepersons may still be missing who were known to have been inside the building during the bombing,185 but it is now believed that all bodies have been recovered.
About one hundred journalists and technicians were reported working in the complex when the bombing occurred.186 Producing and directing rooms and equipment were completely destroyed. There was damage to neighboring buildings, including the "Dusko Radovic" Theater next door.187
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4448615/E02028195) on August 5, inspected the damage to RTS and surrounding buildings and took eyewitness testimony. The damage to the St. Trinity Russian Orthodox and the St. Marco Serbian Orthodox churches consisted on broken windows and other minor effects from the nearby blast. The theater, across a courtyard from the RTS building, received major damage. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.188
At least one JDAM precision-guided munition (PGM) dropped by a B-2 bomber was used in the attack, according to Air Force sources.
April 24
31. In an 11:30 a.m. attack on an unidentified target, the Yugoslav government reports that five civilians are killed and two "gravely" injured when cluster bomblets fall in Doganovic village in Kacanik municipality south of Urosevac on the Macedonian border in Kosovo.189 Five Albanian boys from the Kodza family are reported killed when they pick up an unexploded bomblet: Edan (3), Fisnik (9), Osman (13), Burim (14), and Valjdet (15).190
32. In a 3:00 p.m. attack on an unidentified target in the village of Velika Dobrinja, Lipljan municipality, in Kosovo, one civilian is killed and five are wounded. Arta Lugici (6) is killed, while her brothers Egzon (8) and Neron (7) and sister Arijeta (7) are wounded. Their parents, Gentijana and Arif Lugici, receive light injuries. The wounded boys are placed in the surgical ward of the Pristina hospital.191
April 27
33. In a 12:15-12:30 p.m. attack on the Jovana Jovanovica Zmaja street army barracks in Surdulica in southeastern Serbia, eleven civilians are killed and as many as one hundred are wounded. Killed are Vladimir Milic (12), Miljana Milic (15), Miomir Miovanovic (17), Stanisa Djordjevic (22), Vesna Milic (37), Aleksandar Milic (37), Dragan Ivanovic (39), Stana Rasic (47), Stamenka Milic (66). Two corpses could not be positively identified.
Weapons landed outside the barracks perimeter and cause damage and casualties in the nearby residential areas of J.J. Zmaja (Nos. 1-28), Miroljuba Stanojevica (Nos. 4-8), Jugoslovenska (Nos. 51-112), Stojana Stamenkovica (Nos. 1-40), and Drinske Divizije (No. 8-63) streets, with lesser damage on Beogradska, Branislava Nusica, and 5 Septembrastreets.192 There are widespread reports of sixteen dead, twelve of them being children agedfive to twelve.193 Other reports stated some twenty dead, including twelve children, and over one hundred are wounded, including twenty-four seriously.194
Serbian Vice Premier Dragan Tomic escorted more than eighty domestic and foreign correspondents to view the damage in Surdulica. He states that the youngest victim was barely three years old, and that the attack killed "at least" twenty people, sixteen of whom have been identified so far, six of them children. Spokesman for the Yugoslav Foreign Ministry Nebojsa Vujovic told the correspondents in Surdulica that the town has been hit by 175 "missiles" since April 6.195
On April 28, NATO admitted hitting the residential area of Surdulica, when a weapon intended to hit the army barracks overshot its target.196 Speaking at NATO in Brussels, Brig. Gen. Giuseppe Marani said: "After more than 4,000 attack sorties, one bomb went astray. We put all our effort in avoiding collateral damage. Things like this can happen and in fact they happened."
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4241297/E02210787) on August 12, inspected the damage and took eyewitness testimony. According to eyewitness reports, the civilians killed were in the house belonging to Aleksandar Milic on J.J. Zmaja street. Neighbors took shelter in the Milic house because it was a new house built of strong materials, and had a basement. Eyewitnesses said that eleven corpses were recovered. Stojance Petkovic, a neighbor who was in the Milic house when it was hit, says that there were ten people inside (and all but him died). Another eyewitness said, "Eleven people died in that house, and nobody else was killed" in the neighborhood.197 The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the death from the Ministry of Health.198
April 28
34. In 12:30-3:00 p.m. attacks on Golubovac airfield south of Podgorica in Montenegro, one civilian is killed and three are wounded. Paska Prenkovo Juncaj (61), an Albanian, is killed, and three civilians are wounded in Sipcanik village. Attacks are reported on the Golubovac airfield near Podgorica, as well as on Montenegrin targets at Bar and Bijelo Polje. Cluster bomblets land in the villages of Gosici and Mataguzi, just to the east of the airfield.199 The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
35. In an 11:35 p.m. attack on an unidentified target in Prizren in Kosovo, four civilians are killed and some twenty are wounded. The names of the dead are reported as two-and-a-half-year-old Kasandra, Becir (14), Maksun (22), and Djulja Zuljfuri (25), all from the Roma settlement on Podrimska street. Djulja Zuljfuri was pregnant at the time of her death.About fifty houses in the Roma settlement, are damaged or destroyed.200 The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
April 29
36. In an attack on Slatina airfield near Pristina, three civilians are killed. Berisha Braim (age unknown) and two sons, Daut and Basri, are killed in Ariljaca village (near Goles) (15 km west of Pristina).201
37. In 12:58-4:35 a.m. attacks on the Ostruznica highway bridge over the Sava river south of Belgrade, one civilian is killed. Nebojsa Arsic (35) died on the bridge in his car.202 Both the highway and railroad bridges in Ostruznica were bombed.203
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4444436/02019342) on August 5 and inspected the damage. It also received photo documentation of the death from the Ministry of Health.204 The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack.
April 30
38. In a 2:20-2:30 a.m. attack on the Yugoslav Army/Ministry of Defense headquarters on Kneza Milosa street in downtown Belgrade, one civilian is killed and four are seriously wounded. Another two dozen civilians are lightly wounded. Sofija Jovanovic (23), who sustained injuries, dies on May 2.205 A security guard (policeman), Nenad Nikolic, at his Ministry of Foreign Affairs post across the street from the Ministry of Defense, is also killed.206 The Yugoslav Army/Ministry of Defense headquarters building and the Federal and Serbian Ministries of Internal Affairs, all on Kneza Milosa street, are bombed.207
Human Rights Watch visited the site on August 4, inspected the damage and took eyewitness testimony. Jovanovic was killed at 7 Vardarska street (N4447714/E02028904), about 1,400 meters from the ministry headquarters. There was also a direct hit on 57 Maksima Gorkog street (N4447666/E02028719) and the adjacent "Zlatni ovan" restaurant, and a weapon or shrapnel landed in the street at the corner of Vardarska and Maruliceva streets creating a ten foot crater (N4447698/E02028834). Damage was also observed to surrounding apartments, stores and businesses. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Either a JDAM precision-guided munition (PGM) delivered by a B-2 bomber or a cruise missile was used in the attack.
39. In a 3:15 p.m. attack on the "old bridge"over the Zapadna Morava river in the center of Trstenik in central Serbia, two civilians are killed and fifteen are wounded, one seriously.208 Dejan Djordjevic (40) and Nadezda Petrickovic (44), both of Grabovac village, are killed on the bridge.209
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.210 A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack.
40. In a 10:10 p.m. attack on the bridge over the Lim river in Murino, Montenegro (near the Albanian border), six civilians are killed and seven are wounded. The dead are reported as Julija Brudar (10), Olivera Maksimovic (12), Miroslav Knezevic (13), Vukic Vuletic (45), Manojlo Komantina (age unknown), and Milka Kocanovic (possibly Kovacevic) (age unknown).211 The Yugoslav government initially reports one person killed and two wounded.212 The next day it reports four people killed and eight wounded.213 Still later it reports five civilians killed and eight children wounded.214
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack.
May 1
41. In a 1:40 p.m. attack on a bridge over the Lab river near the village of Luzane, twelve miles north of Pristina in Kosovo, a bus is hit, killing thirty-nine and injuring thirteen.215 The "Nis Express" passenger bus is hit on a bridge and plunges into the river.216 The Yugoslav press reports, quoting Leposava Milicevic (the Serbian Health Minister), that forty-seven passengers are killed and sixteen are heavily wounded.217 The Yugoslav government reports that "aircraft also bombed the ambulance which came to help the victims when one doctor was injured."218
NATO admits destroying a civilian bus, saying that the bus appeared after an attacking aircraft released its weapon against the bridge, which it described as a key military route.219 NATO's Col. Konrad Freytag said: "Unfortunately, after the weapon's release, a bus crossed on the bridge but was not seen by the pilot whose attention was focused on his aim point during weapon trajectory."
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.220 A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack.
42. In an attack on unidentified targets near the village of Jablanica south of Prizren in Kosovo, two civilians are killed and sixteen are wounded. Killed are Azemina Murati (38) and Ahmet Murati (88). Some twenty homes are destroyed and another fifty are damaged.221 The Yugoslav government reports that three children and two adults are killed by a cluster bomb.222 The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
43. In an attack on unidentified targets in the suburb of Kule in Prizren in Kosovo, seven are killed and fifteen are wounded. Four members of the Berisha family are killed and seven are wounded. A weapons crater is caused on Alji Tarambabe street.223 The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 2
44. In a 6:15 p.m. attack on the military barracks in the northern part of the city of Sremska Mitrovica in Vojvodina, one civilian is killed. Ljiljana Veliki (39) is killed in her house at No. 123 Milosa Obilica street, 800 meters away from the barracks.224 The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
45. In a 9:40 a.m. attack on Serbian MUP buildings in Kosovska Mitrovica in Kosovo, two civilians are killed. Milomir Aksentijevic (age unknown) and Hashima Meshehrani (age unknown) are killed when a weapon lands on the "Kosmetput" asphalt factory.225
May 3
46. In an attack between 11:45 a.m. and 13:30 p.m. in the area of Savine Vode in northwestern Kosovo, a bus and car are hit, killing seventeen and injuring forty-four civilians. Aircraft hit the "Djakovica Prevoz" bus on its regular Pec-Rozaje route and a VW Golf Jetta car.226 After being hit by two weapons, the bus burst in flames. Forty-three casualties from the bus and the adjacent automobiles were reported admitted to the Pec hospital.227 Cluster bomb use is reported.228
NATO denied its planes were responsible for the attack, saying that it could find "no evidence" linking it with the incident.229
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of cluster bomb remains and of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.230
May 4
47. At 3:00 p.m., a Ford Escort civilian passenger car is destroyed by the delayed explosion of a cluster bomb submunition on the Pec-Rozaje highway near the site at which the civilian bus had been hit on May 3. Jovan Otasevic (22) from Plav municipality is killed and one person is reported to be wounded.231
May 7
48. In an 11:20-11:40 a.m. cluster bomb attack on the Nis airfield in southeast Serbia, fourteen civilians are killed and twenty-eight are wounded. Those killed are Ljiljana Spasic (26), Gordana Sekulic (29), Sasa Miljkovic (33), Dragisa Vucic (35), Bozidar Veljkovic (38), Ljubisa Stancic (48), Aleksandar Deljanin (50), Bozidar Djordjevic (57), Slobodan Stoiljkovic (61), Vera Ilic (65), Zivorad Ilic (71), Gerasim Jovanovski (84), and Trifun Vuckovic (86). Ljiljana Spasic, killed on the corner of Jelene Dimitrijevic and Sumatovacka streets, is nine months pregnant. A fourteenth victim, Milutin Zivkovic (74), dies on May 8.232
Cluster bomblets fall in three areas: near the Pathology building of the Nis Medical Center in southeast Nis; in the town center near the Nis University Rector's Office, including the area of the central city market place, the bus station near the Nis Fortress, and the "12 February" Health Center; and near a car dealership and the "Nis Express" parking lot across the river from the fortress. Unexploded bomblets are reported on Ljube Nenadovica St., Sumatovacka St., Franca Rozmana St., and Anete Andrejevic St. It is reported that "there are several hundred unexploded cluster bombs in the city center."233
Initial Yugoslav government reports state that fifteen civilians are killed and more than sixty are wounded.234 Later reports state thirteen civilians are killed and twenty-nine are wounded, eighteen gravely and eleven lightly. The Yugoslav government also reports that 120 housing units are damaged and forty-seven destroyed, and that fifteen passenger cars are also destroyed.235
NATO confirms that it attacked the Nis airfield on May 7.236 There are other reports that the Jugopetrol fuel storage depot in northwest Nis is also targeted.237 On May 8, NATO Secretary General Solana states that it "NATO has confirmed that the damage to the market and
clinic was caused by a NATO weapon which missed its target. This strike was directed against the Nis airfield utilizing cluster munitions. The attack was aimed at destroying Serbian aircraft which were parked on the airfield, air defence systems and support vehicles, targets to which
cluster munitions are appropriately suited. Once again of course civilian casualties were never intended and NATO regrets the loss of life and injuries inflicted."
NATO states that U.S. aircraft dropped CBU-87 cluster bombs in the airfield attack. According to NATO Maj. Gen. Walter Jertz says: "I can tell you that we did not target-repeat we did not target-civilian hospitals and we do not target any civilian targets whatsoever." He further states: "We were using cluster bombs on the Nis target because, as I already mentioned, cluster bombs are used in aerial targets where we know that collateral damage could not occur, and it would be speculation if I would continue on the reason why some of the clusters obviously did go astray, maybe because of atechnical malfunction or they could have been inadvertently released."238 According to U.S. Air Force sources, the intended target was the airfield and the cluster bomb container failed to open over the airfield, but opened right after release, projecting submunitions to a great distance.
Human Rights Watch visited the sites on August 11, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. There were two areas where civilians were killed: near the town marketplace on Anete Andrejevic, Sumatovacka, and Jelene Dimitrijevic streets near the Nisava river; and near the Clinical Center on Ljube Nenadovica street. The closest to the airfield is more than 1.5 kilometers from the base perimeter; the Clinical Center is close to six kilometers from the airfield. Eyewitnesses also said that several people were injured at the "12 February" Health Center on Jelene Dimitrijevic street.
Human Rights Watch also observed a small military barracks on the banks of the Nisava river to the west of the October Revolution bridge, and the 3rd Army Headquarters building in downtown Nis at "Yugoslav Army" square in the downtown. Though NATO did not report attacks on these installations, both were extensively bombed, and could have been the objects of attack on May 7 (see also May 8). Nis civil defense officials stated that eight weapons-four "guided bombs," two cluster bombs, and two unexploded bombs-were dropped in Nis on May 7. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.239
49. In an 11:50 p.m. to midnight attack on what was wrongly identified as the Yugoslav Federal Directorate for Supply and Procurement (Yugoimport FDSP) at 2 Umetnosti Boulevard in New Belgrade, the Chinese Embassy compound is mistakenly hit, killing three and injuring twenty Embassy staff members.240 The three Chinese nationals killed include Hi Hinhu (31), Zhu Jing (28), and Shao-Jin Juan (48).241 At the moment of the attack, fifty people were reported in the embassy buildings.242
According to the U.S. government, at 2146 Zulu time (GMT) (about midnight local time in Belgrade) on May 7, 1999, a B-2 dropped five Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) 2000 lb. GPS-guided bombs on the target designated as the FDSP building but which was, in fact, the Chinese Embassy.243 According to U.S. government sources, the street address of the FDSP headquarters (the intended target) was known as Bulevar Umetnosti 2 in New Belgrade. During a mid-April "work-up" of the target to prepare a mission folder for the B-2 bomber crew, three maps were used in an attempt to physically locate this address within the neighborhood: two local commercial maps from 1989 and 1996, and one U.S. government (National Imagery and Mapping Agency or NIMA) map produced in 1997. None accurately identified the current location of the Chinese Embassy. CIA Director George Tenet says that there were people at the CIA and at the Department of Defense who had an intimate understanding of the Belgrade environment, but they were not consulted in this process. 244
Human Rights Watch visited the Chinese Embassy site (N4449483/E02025147) located at Tresnjin cvet street No. 3 on August 4, and inspected the damage and the surrounding area. It also located the location of the FDSP headquarters at Bulevar Umetnosti 2, some 300 meters away from the Chinese Embassy. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.245
50. In an 11:50 p.m. attack on the Hotel Yugoslavia, on No. 3 Bulevar Nikole Tesle in New Belgrade, one civilian is killed and three are wounded. Andjelko Nincic (age unknown) is killed. The Yugoslav White Book identifies him as "a refugee residing in the hotel."246 Other reports say he is a member of the board of the Socialist Party of the Republika Srpska.247
A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack. NATO confirms that it attack the "Hotel Jugoslavia," which it calls "a location being used as a barracks for Arkan's Tigers in Belgrade and as an alternate MUP Headquarters. The hotel has long been under Arkan's control. He owned the casino as well as the sport club. Since the air campaign began, his forces took over the whole building and have used it as a Command Center for operations in Kosovo."248
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4449267/E02024976) on August 4, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. Human Rights Watch was able to confirm that the casino area of the hotel was being used by paramilitary groups. The hotel itself was occupied, eyewitnesses said, mostly by government officials and guests of the government. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the death from the Ministry of Health.249
May 8
51. In a 4:03-4:25 p.m. attack on the concrete "12 February" bridge over the Nisava river in downtown Nis between, two civilians are killed. Initially, it is reported that one person is seriously and ten people are lightly wounded, and damage is caused to the Greek consulate, a car dealership, and the Nis Express parking lot. A city bus on Stanka Paunovica street is also reported hit.250 Later press reports state that two persons are killed.251
A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack. NATO confirms that it attacked Nis airfield, a "highway bridge" in Nis, and the Nis petroleum storage site on May 8.252
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4319395/E02153439) on August 11, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. The bridge is located on Oktobarske Revolucije street, an extension of 12. Februara Boulevard. The Greek consulate is on the north bank of the river, on Kej Mike Paligorica street. The bridge was hit with one weapon, which did damage to the west side of the roadway (the bridge was not further damaged). Another crater from an errant weapon was observed further west on the bank of the Nisava river across from the "Rudo" factory. This crater was close to a small military barracks on the banks of the Nisava river (see comments on May 7). The 3rd Army Headquarters building in downtown Nis at "Yugoslav Army" square is also only a few hundred meters away. It seems possible that the bridge was not the object of the attack (the "highway" bridge reported attacked by NATO is assumed not to be this downtown road bridge). Nis civil defense officials stated that ten weapons-five "missiles" and five "guided bombs"-were dropped in Nis on May 8.
May 10
52. In an attack on an unidentified target near the Lipljan suburb of Staro Gacko (Gradsko) in Kosovo, three civilians are killed and four are wounded. Dragana Dimic (4), Rosa Jankovic (age unknown) and Bosko Jankovic (age unknown)are killed.253 The Yugoslav government says that three civilians are killed and four are "gravely" wounded while several family houses are damaged.254 The incident is reported as occurring both at 1:15 a.m. and at 10:30 a.m.
53. In a 3:11 p.m. attack believed to be on the "Sloboda" factory/ordnance repair facility in Cacak in central Serbia, four are killed and twelve to thirteen wounded. Killed are Dragan Obrenic (29) and Velija Dzemailovic (44) on Kulinovacko Polje III street. Milos Jovcic (46) and Nasko Ristic (50) are killed in a truck on the same street.255 The attack occurs in the Cacak eastern industrial zone less then a kilometer from the town center. The "Cer" Appliances factory and the "Hidrogradnja" Construction Company are damaged to the north of the area where civilian casualties occurred.0 Many houses are also reported "leveled to the ground" during the attack on the industrial area.1 The clothing factory "1. Oktobar" is reported damaged.2 Some reports place this attack at 11:05 a.m. on May 11, but they are incorrect.
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.3
May 11
54. In 11:20 a.m. attacks on the Nis airfield and the Jugopetrol storage site, two civilian are killed and four are wounded. Zoran Nikolic (possibly Nikovic) (40) is killed immediately and security guard Goran Aleksic dies several days later at the VMA (Military Medical Academy) hospital in Belgrade.4 The Yugoslav government reports that the "Energogas" storage facility in northwestern Nis is attacked during a visit of a Serbian Parliament delegation. It stated at the time that one person was killed, and five were wounded. The Yugoslav government also reported that the Nis Airport was targeted.5 Tanjug reports that the Vice President of the Socialist party of Serbia Dusan Matkovic and the Vice President of the Yugoslav Assembly Republic Council Gorica Gajevic, who were part of a delegation visiting the Jugopetrol complex, were wounded in the attacks.6 Cluster bombs are reported as having been used, but this was disputed by Nis officials.7
NATO confirms attacks on both the airfield and the Nis "petroleum storage site" on May 11.8
Human Rights Watch visited the Jugopetrol site on August 13, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. Officials at the site stated that security guard Milorad Cukic was also gravely injured, and at the time of the Human Rights Watch visit, was still rehabilitating. Nis civil defense officials stated that eleven weapons-ten "missiles" and one unexploded weapon- were dropped in Nis on May 11. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.9
55. In a 9:30 p.m. attack on the Vladicin Han road bridge over the Juzna Morava river in southeast Serbia, two civilians are killed and three are wounded. Gordana Nikolic (18) and Milan Ignjatovic (19) are killed.10 The bridge in the center of the town, as well as a nearby department store, are destroyed.11
A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack. NATO confirms attacking the Vladicin Han bridge on May 11.12
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4242353/E02203747) on August 12, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. Eyewitnesses stated that the bridge was attacked four times on different occasions. The fourth attack was the one which ultimately destroyed the bridge, they said. Milan Ignjatovic and Gordana Nikolic were killed during the first attack. They were some 500 meters away and were knocked down by the blast created by the explosion. Townspeople said that they thought another town bridge was more likely to be attacked (the main one leading to Surdulica). The bridge that was actually attacked was not on the main highway nor was it the access route to the older secondary north-south road in Yugoslavia; it only connects the town center over the banks of the river.
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
56. In an attack on an unidentified target south of Nis, one civilian is killed in Orlane village, near Doljevac in Serbia. Jagoda Mladenovic (63) is killed by a weapons explosion while working in a field.13
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the death from the Ministry of Health.14
May 13
57. In an 11:50 p.m. attack on Yugoslav Army forces in the field, a refugee camp on the Prizren-Suva Reka primary road, near the village of Korisa in Kosovo, is bombed, killing at least forty-eight and as many as eighty-seven, and injuring as many as sixty.15
The Yugoslav government initially reports "at least seventy-nine civilians were killed, and more than fifty wounded," when aircraft attacked a convoy of about 500 ethnic Albanians hiding in the near-by woods.16 Another Yugoslav government report stated that initial and still incomplete data indicates that eighty-four people were killed and over one hundred were wounded ("Yugoslav citizens of Albanian nationality, mainly women, children and the elderly").17 Yugoslav and western press reports ultimately put the death toll at eighty-seven, a number repeated by the U.S. State Department.18 The UN Kosovo High Commissioner for Human Rights also quotes eighty civilians killed.19
The Yugoslav government also claimed the use of cluster bombs, and the White Book, Volume II, contains photographic evidence of remains of tactical munitions dispensers (TMDs) from the site.20 Tanjug also reports that NATO used "thermo-vision bombs that develop high temperature of up to 2000 degrees Celsius so that they burn even the stone."21
In an official statement on May 15, NATO says:
This was a legitimate military target.The Serb claims of an attack involving cluster bombs against a non-military target are both false. NATO identified Korisa as a military camp and command post. Military equipment including an armoured personnel carrier and more than ten pieces of artillery were observed at this location. The aircraft observed dug-in military positions at the target before executing the attack. NATO cannot confirm the casualty figures given by the Serbian authorities, nor the reasons why civilians were at this location at the time of the attack. NATO deeply regrets accidental civilian casualties that were caused by this attack.22
Maj. Gen. Jertz states further that
Immediately prior to the attack at 23.30-11.30 p.m.-local time Thursday night an airborne forward air controller confirmed the target, so the identification and attack system of his aircraft, having positively identified the target as what looked like dug in military reveted positions, he dropped two laser guided bombs. Following his attack, he cleared his wingman to also attack the same target using two more laser guided bombs. Approximately 10 minutes later, the third aircraft engaged the target with gravity bombs, with six gravity bombs. A total of 10 bombs were dropped on the target. Contrary to Serbian reports, I want to be very clear that cluster munitions were not used against these targets.23
On May 14, the first rumors emerge that suggest that Serb troops were using civilians as human shields in Korisa. Amnesty International says that Korisa had been under attack by VJ and MUP forces prior to the bombing. On May 15, AFP quotes a spokesman for SHAPE as saying: "The possibility of human shields is one that always exist....But we are not on the ground so we have no way of confirming civilian casualties, their number or why they were there in the first place."24 Visiting Albania the next day, General Clark said: "We know there is a real threat of human shields all the way through Kosovo."25 On May 16, a Kosovar refugee who witnessed the NATO strike on Korisa also reported to Deutsche Welle that FRY police forced some 600 displaced Kosovars to serve as human shields there before the attack.26
On May 15, Assistant Secretary of Defense Kenneth Bacon also says at the DOD News Briefing that
This accident at Korisa did not shake NATO's resolve in any way. The air campaign will continue with increasing force, particularly against Serb ground forces and police units in Kosovo.... NATO deeply regrets civilian casualties.... We try very hard to avoid these casualties, but combat is inherently dangerous and accidents cannot be avoided. ... This mission, like every other, will be reviewed, and the airmen and their commanders will learn what they can from it and continue. But I don't anticipate that there will be a sweeping change. We can't cross legitimate military targets off the list, and we won't.
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident documenting civilian deaths in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.27
May 17
58. In a 3:30 p.m. attack on the "Jugopetrol" oil depot in Bor in central eastern Serbia, one civilian is killed and four are wounded. A tractor on the Bor-Slatina-Zajecar road is hit and Dragoslav Grujic (49) is killed and four other persons are wounded.28 Houses in the "ElektroIstok" neighborhood are also reported to be damaged.29
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 18
59. In a 12:30-12:40 p.m. attack on the Krusik factory in Valjevo in central Serbia, one civilian is killed and eighteen are wounded. Mileva Krunic (72) is killed in the village (suburb) of Jasenica, when her home was hit. The home is located some three kilometers from the Krusik factory.30 Tanjug reports that one person is killed and thirteen are wounded.31 The Yugoslav government reports one person killed and twelve "severely wounded." The government reports damage to the "Oslobodioci Valjeva," "Novo Naselje" and "Kolubara 2" residential areas, as well as the Valjevo hospital. The nearby villages (suburbs) of Donja Grabovica and Jasenica (particularly the small village of Krunici) receive damage, and a local blackout was reported.32
NATO states that it attacked the ammunition plant in Valjevo on May 18, the same day as the Krusik plant.33
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4418058/E01955215) on August 7, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 19
60. In a 1:15 p.m. attack on what NATO claimed were Yugoslav army and police forces near the Dubrava penitentiary near Istok in Kosovo, four civilians are killed and two are injured (see also May 21). Three weapons reportedly hit the penitentiary. Three prisoners and a guard are killed and two prisoners are wounded. The penitentiary administration building and two wings are hit.34 Tanjug reports "There are fears that the casualty toll will rise, as it is difficult to approach the site, where ruins are being cleared. Material damage is tremendous." Provincial secretary for administration and regulations Jovica Jovanovic said that one of the wounded prisoners is in critical condition. Three penitentiary employees were lightly wounded, he added.35
The Vujindol village on the Istok-Zubin Potok road is also reported hit.36
NATO states that it attacked an "army facility" in Istok on May 19.37 NATO spokesman Maj. Gen. Walter Jertz says that the facility was "a militarily significant target...a military security complex." He says that precision-guided munitions were used in the attack.38
Among those believed killed by NATO bombing are: Enver Topalli, Abdullah Tahiri, and Gjon Ndrecaj.
61. In a 5:30 p.m. attack on an Army facility in Gnjilane in Kosovo, five civilians are killed and sixteen are "slightly injured."39 Killed are Djijan Sabija (25), Vesna Cvetanovic (31), Djurdja Savic (34), Dzevat Ademi (39), and Gorica Cuprijanovic (46).40 Sabija and Ademi are killed at the "Binacka Morava" construction enterprise. The others are killed at the PIP "Mladost" company cafeteria.41
NATO states that it attacked an army facility in Gnjilane on May 19.42
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 20
62. In a 1:00-2:05 a.m. attack on the headquarters and barracks of the State Security Service (Sluzba Drzavene Bezbednosti (SDB), also known as the "Office of State Security") on Bulevar Mira in the Dedinje/Topcider section of Belgrade, four civilians are killed at the "Dragisa Misovic" Clinical and Hospital Center (KBC) at no. 64 Bulevar mira. Radoslav Novakovic (47), Branka Boskovic (75), Bosko Vrebalov (82), and Zora Brkic (82) are killed and numerous patients are wounded.43
Two women in the process of giving birth and one new born baby are reported wounded. The Clinic of Neurology was reported "devastated" and buildings of the center for children lung diseases and tuberculosis and the gynecological clinic and maternity house were reported "demolished."44 Serbia state television reports that emergency services evacuated infants and pregnant women. One woman was in labor when the bombs hit, the report said. Serbian Deputy Premier Milovan Bojic said that NATO's actions had been "something history and mankind would never forget." Two women who just gave birth, three babies, one child and a number of medical staff were also injured.45
There are various unofficial reports regarding the intended target. The Yugoslav government incorrectly reports that a nearby gas station on the "Rakovicki put" in the Topcider sector was hit.46 Tanjug reports attacks on nearby military barracks (without further specification).47 There are also reports of an attack on the "Jugopetrol" fuel depot in Cukarica quarter (Radnicka street), about 2.5kilometers away on May 20.48 There is also damage to the Swedish and Swiss Embassy buildings in the Dedinje neighborhood as a result of the attacks.
NATO states that it attacked "a surface to air missile support facility in Belgrade" and fuel stores "on the outskirts of" Belgrade on May 20, but makes no mention of attacks on the State Security or the adjacent Topcider "White House" compound, where the offices of President Milosevic are located, in its daily list of targets.49 Responding to press questions, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea says "NATO aircraft targeted yesterday evening and struck a Belgrade army barracks-I insist an army barracks- at about 1 a.m. this morning; 7 laser-guided bombs hit the target, one laser-guidedbomb failed to guide correctly and we can confirm that it struck the base of a building about 1,500 feet from the centre of the target area...."50
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4446580/E02027348) on August 17 and inspected the damage. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book. Human Rights Watch also received photo documentation of the deaths from the Ministry of Health.51
63. In a midnight attack on the northern Vojvodina Sombor "Naftagas-promet" depot, one civilian is killed and others are wounded. Nikola Hinic (59) is killed in his home at no. 60 Vuka Karadzica street and the Knezevic and Velimirovic homes are destroyed. Other wounded civilians are taken to the local hospital.52
NATO confirms attacking fuel stores in Sombor on May 20.53
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 21
64. In a 5:30 p.m. attack on a MUP police station in central Djakovica in Kosovo, one civilian is killed and four are "lightly wounded." Ibrahim Gjosi (age unknown) is killed in his home.54 Yugoslav authorities report that the town's center is targeted with "six missiles." "The civilian that was killed was in his house located in this part of the town," the civil defense authorities say, "while the four wounded persons were in a car at the time of the attack."55 Human Rights Watch observed damage only to the Djakovica MUP building. According to a doctor at the Djakovica hospital, twenty-eight people were injured from the attack.56
NATO states that it attacked a militia station supporting the MUP at Djakovica on May 21.57
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
65. In an 8:10-10:25 a.m. attack on believed military barracks and assembly areas at Dubrava Penitentiary near Istok in Kosovo, at least nineteen prisoners are killed and more are wounded (see also May 19). The Yugoslav government initially reports nineteen people were killed in the Dubrava Penitentiary, and more than ten were "severely or lightly" wounded. It said that twenty-four missiles were launched causing "huge damage to most of the buildings in the penitentiary perimeter."58
On May 25, the Yugoslav press reported from Tanjug that "in days long bombardment of the Penitentiary Institute Istok, some 100 prisoners died, and some 200 were wounded." On May 27, Tanjug quoted Vladan Bojic, judge in Pec's District Court, saying that ninety-six corpses had been pulled from the ruins and that forty wounded are in critical condition. On May 29, the Yugoslav government stated that "The number of casualties in the Correctional Institution in Istok is increasing. Out of 196 people wounded in the vandal bombing of this institution another three persons died, and seven more were taken out from under the rubble, while the search for the dead continues."59 On May 30, Tanjugreports seven more bodies found, bringing the total to ninety-three killed.60 The White Book eventually states that ninety-five prisoners are killed and over one hundred are wounded at the Dubrava Penitentiary.61
NATO declares that "a barracks and assembly area for the VJ and MUP forces that conduct ethnic cleansing operations in Kosovo, in the vicinity of a prison, were struck at Istok" on May 21.62 On May 22, NATO Spokesman Col. Freytag states that the prison was on the target list as "an unused prison with an airfield with a large military facility used by the military forces, Serbian ground forces and special police." He says that NATO had bombed the "very large complex" twice before and "caused a lot of damage."63
Human Rights Watch has determined that Yugoslav forces were likely responsible for the majority of deaths which occurred after the bombing (this accounts for the seeming discrepancy between the estimate of at least 19 quoted here and the Yugoslav claims of ninety-five dead). According to a separate investigation undertaken by Human Rights Watch in Kosovo, based upon extensive eyewitness testimony, prisoners were hunted down inside the penitentiary walls after the May 21 attack, eventually killing another eighty or so prisoners. The bombing on May 21 caused chaos in the facility. The Yugoslav government states that some prisoners tried to escape during this time, and the guards were struggling to maintain order. On May 22, according to eyewitnesses, prison officials ordered the approximately 1,000 prisoners to line up in the prison yard. After a few minutes, they were fired upon, and grenades were thrown at them from the prison walls and guard towers, killing at least seventy people. Over the next twenty-four hours, prison guards, special police, and possibly paramilitaries attacked prisoners who were hiding in the prison's undestroyed buildings, basements, and sewers, killing at least another twelve people. There has been extensive press reporting to substantiate this conclusion in addition to the Human Rights Watch investigation.64
Among those believed killed by NATO bombing are: Mehdi Dallosi, Ahmet Hoxha, and Ali Kelmendi.
May 23
66. Tanjug reports that one person is killed and twenty-nine are wounded in Djakovica in Kosovo.65
May 25
67. In a 1:35 p.m. attack on the "Mika Mitrovic" Army barracks in the center of Sabac in central Serbia, one civilian is killed and five are wounded. Zivorad Nenadovic (69) from no. 6 Stanimira Josipovica street was fatally wounded and later died in the hospital.66 The barracks were targeted with six weapons, according to the Yugoslav government. Damage was reported to the "Laza Lazarevic" elementary school, "Macva" sports stadium, and the "Trkaliste" residential area.67 Electric power supply was also cut to Sabac.68
NATO confirms the bombing of the Sabac army barracks on May 25.69
Human Rights Watch visited the site on August 7, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. Neighbors said Nenadovic died in front of his house (N4445178/E01940848) while repairing his car. The barracks were located at N4445027/E01941017, some 1500 meters from the house. This was reportedly the last of three attacks on the Mika Mitrovic barracks (the previous two were on May 11 and May 18). All of the attacks took place in the afternoon, according to eyewitnesses.
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 26
68. In a 10:45 p.m. attack on unidentified targets near the village of Kosovska Vitina, south of Gnjilane in Kosovo, three civilians are killed and two are wounded.70 Yugoslav press reports state that Djelekare and Gornja Budriga villages with no army or police in vicinity are bombed.71
NATO declares that it bombed the nearby Kacanik television and radio transmission and relay site on May 26.72
69. In an 8:30 a.m. attack on unidentified targets in the Kosovo village of Radoste, west of Orahovac, two are killed and one is "severely wounded." Kujtim Kastrati (11) and Beg Krasniqi (31) are killed.73 The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
70. In an 11:15 to 11:30 p.m. attack on the Ralja logistic support depot south of Belgrade (Sopot municipality), three civilians are killed and three are wounded. Children Dejana (5) and Stefan (8) Pavlovic are killed, as well as Biljana Momcilovic (29). The home of the Pavlovic family at No. 6 Save Kovacevica street and the Momcilovic home at no. 4 are directly hit.74 According to Yugoslav civil defense authorities, one "missile" hit a block of houses, injuring one child, and another is listed as missing. Authorities also report damage to a private house in the village of Begaljica southeast of Belgrade at 11.30 p.m., with one injury, and an attack on nearby Bubanj Potok.75
NATO states that it bombed the logistic supply depot at Ralja on May 26.76
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4433785/E02033806) on August 14 and inspected the damage. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 27
71. In a 1:25 p.m. attack on the Cekavicki bridge over the Jablanica river near Pertate between Leskovac and Lebane in southeastern Serbia, two civilians are killed and one is wounded. Branka Stankovic (55) and Veselka Spasic (59) are killed near the bridge.77 The bridge is reported hit with three "missiles." The "Grmija" trading company storage facilityis also reported targeted with two "missiles."78 Later, the Yugoslav government reports a 2:20 p.m. attack on the Cenovacki Bridge on the road to Lebane that kills two civilians, undoubtedly the same incident.79
A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack. NATO confirms attacking the Pertate bridge on May 27.80
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4258001/E02151265) on August 12, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
72. In a 4:30-4:35 p.m. attack on the Palic meteorological station in Vojvodina near Subotica, one civilian is killed and three are wounded. Jeka Alavanja (70), a refugee from Croatia, is killed in a nearby refugee camp.81 The meteorological station is located at no. 12 Lajosz Vermesz Quay.82 The Yugoslav government reports that four "missiles" are fired at the Palic tourist resort and that four people are severely wounded. It reports that the refugee camp housing refugees from Croatia suffered severe "damage."83 It later reports three people killed at the Palic tourist resort.84
NATO declares it attacked the Subotica AM Broadcast station on May 27, but does not report attacking anything in Palic nearby.85
Human Rights Watch visited the site on August 2, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. A Croatian refugee camp (N4605585/E01946001) was hit with two weapons, eyewitnesses said, at about 4:30 p.m. on May 27, killing one woman.
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 28
73. In a 12:30-12:45 a.m. attack on an unidentified target in Aleksinac in southeastern Serbia, three civilians are killed and ten are wounded. Killed are Predrag Nedeljkovic (37), Dusanka Savic (48), and Branislav Mitrovic (79). A single weapon lands in the area of nos. 23 and 25 Niska street in the Svrljig neighborhood.86 The Yugoslav government says "more than ten missiles" hit Aleksinac, destroying ten houses.87 Tanjug reports at least two civilians killed and ten are wounded. It reports "seven missiles" being fired.88
NATO does not report attacks on any Aleksinac targets on May 27 or May 28.89
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4331817/E02142964) on August 11, inspected the damage, and took eyewitness testimony. The area is some distance from the Deligrad barracks downtown, which was the target of attack in an earlier incident (see April 5).90
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 29
74. In a 3:15 p.m. attack on the ammunition depot in northwestern Nis, two civilians are killed and three are wounded in the village of Camurlija. Husband and wife Dusan (64) and Vukosava (61) Mancic died, and their grandchildren Aleksandra (10), Dejan (13), and Daliborka (16) were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds. Two houses in Camurlija are completely destroyed.91
NATO confirms bombing the Nis ammunition depot, "a military vehicle storage area at Nis," as well as TV/FM relay and AM radio broadcasting stations in Nis on May 29.92 The Nis ammunition depot and airfield are also reported bombed on May 30.93 On May 30, NATO spokesman Maj. Gen. Walter Jertz discusses the attack on Camurlija:
First of all let me tell you once again that of course we do only attack military targets. Full stop.... I have a report...that north-west of Nis, Kamrolija (sic), we did attack military barracks. Indeed two bombs, the pilots did guide off intentionally because the target was covered so they couldn't identify the target well enough, so they intentionally discarded these two bombs which fell into a river called Nisavar (sic, Nisava), I hope it is spelt correctly. ... in this incident where they realized that they would not hit the target, they just guided them into a river, which was fortunate enough they did.94
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4321851/E02150758) on August 14, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. NATO discussions of special precautions taken by pilots notwithstanding, there were civilian deaths and damage in the village. Villagers stated that the military "depot" is some 500 meters away. A neighbor told Human Rights Watch that the Mancics were in the house when the explosion occurred. The bomb did not hit their house directly, but the house next to theirs; a wall in their house, however, collapsed, and killed them inside. Another weapon fell some 200 meters away, on the same road, and destroyed a garage. The next day, in the afternoon during the funeral, the "depot" was again bombed. The second incident is reported as having taken place at 5:30 p.m. on May 30.95 Nis civil defense officials stated that four "missiles" were dropped in Nis on May 29. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
75. In an afternoon attack on a tunnel near the village of Krk Bunar/Gornje Selo between Prizren and Brezovica in southern Kosovo, one civilian is killed and three are wounded.96 Nebojsa Radojevic (38), a chauffeur, is killed.97
The killed and injured are in a convoy of Western journalists who had snuck into southern Kosovo. There are various reports of the number of civilians wounded: press reports and the Yugoslav civil defense authorities state six are wounded.98 Human Rights Watch could confirm that the three injured were a correspondent for the London Times,Eve-Ann Prentice, a journalist with Portuguese national television, Elsa Marujo, and French philosopher Daniel Schiffer. The wounded receive treatment at a nearby field hospital.
Tanjug reported that there were no military or police facilities or units near the scene.99
Yet NATO claimed an attack on "a VJ tunnel staging area in southern Kosovo" on May 29.100
Later on May 31 NATO officials state that despite checks they had "no information" about the possible attacks on the journalist group. Spokesman Jamie Shea commented: "Of course, we cannot guarantee the safety of journalists or individual vehicles in Kosovo."
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
76. In a 3:25 p.m. attack on a Jablanica river bridge between Leskovac and Lebane in southern Serbia, two civilians are killed and one is wounded. Goran Stojmenovic (32) and Stanoje Stojmenovic (58) are killed, and one person is "seriously wounded." Stanoje Stojmenovic is killed while working nearby in a field.101 The Yugoslav government reports the incident as occurring at 7:10 p.m.102
A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack. NATO confirms an attack on the "Donje Trnjance" bridge on May 29 (presumed to be the Donje Trnjane bridge on the secondary road over the Jablanica river).103
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
77. In an 8:00 p.m. attack on an unidentified target in the area of Kosovska Vitina in southern Kosovo, five civilians are killed and two are reported as "seriously injured." The deaths and injuries occur in the village of Gornja Budriga, and fifteen "missiles" are reported fired.104 The Orthodox cemetery in Kosovska Vitina is also reported hit, as is the area of the village of Drobes.105
NATO does not report hitting any fixed targets in the area on May 29,106 though the attacks could have been directed against Yugoslav forces in the field.
78. The Yugoslav press reports that three civilians are killed in Brezna village near the Albanian border southwest of Prizren in Kosovo.107
May 30
79. In a midnight attack intended for an ammunition depot in Surdulica in southeastern Serbia, a sanatorium is bombed, and twenty-three civilians are killed and thirty-six are wounded. Milenko Malobabic (16), Rada Malobabic (19), Milena Malobabic (20), Djordje Pavkovic (45), Rada Zigic (52), Bosiljka Malobabic (53), Slavko Popovic (60), Petar Budisavljevic (60), Bogdanka Janjanin (60), Stamen Rangelov (61), Milanka Vuckovic (65), Stana Rasic (66), Desanka Velickovic (67), Bosa Miladinovic (68), Danica Malesevic (68), Nepijal Dragic (70), Dragic Napijalo (70), Dusan Manojlovic (72), Bogdanka Janjanin (74), and Mile Slijepcevic (90) are killed.108 On June 7, Boris Eremijev (60) from Klisura dies in ahospital in Bosilegrad.109 The bodies of two more victims, names and ages unknown, were reportedly recovered on August 11.
The Special Hospital for Lung Diseases "Sanatorium" in southeastern Surdulica is hit. The complex includes an home for the aged and a refugee center. Directly hit were three widely separated buildings.110 Tanjug reports "at least 17 children and helpless old people lost their lives."111 In all, the Yugoslav government states, twenty civilians are killed and eighty-eight wounded.112
NATO reports the bombing of the Surdulica ammunition storage site on May 30.113 NATO spokesman Col. Konrad Freitag says that aircraft struck an ammunition storage depot and military barracks. "NATO cannot confirm any Serb claims of casualties or collateral damage," he said. On June 1, NATO spokesman Jamie Shea further addresses the Surdulica incident:
when we looked at this incident we clearly saw that the 4 missiles, precision guided missiles, which were fired at the facilities in Surdulica, all hit the target, the military target, the legitimate military target, accurately. There were no errant weapons in this situation.114
In July, while testifying before Congress, Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre and CIA Director George Tenet address the Surdulica incident. Hamre says: "We did have an instance where we hit a hospital. It was totally an accident. In this case, that was human error that led in this instance where we hit a hospital." Tenet says: "We hit a hospital. We didn't want to do that. That was the case of the pilot got confused and he was off by about a mile and what he thought was his coordinates."115
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4240929/E02209910) on August 12, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. Guards at the sanatorium said that they observed NATO aircraft flying at a low altitude, and that there was no air defenses active in the area. On August 11, one day before the Human Rights Watch team visited the site, the guards stated that two more corpses were found on the roof of a sanatorium building. Human Rights Watch also inspected a large crater in a field some 400 meters from the sanatorium facility. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
80. In a 7:05-7:21 a.m. attack on an army barracks in Vranje, one civilian is killed and one is wounded. Mane Andjelkovic (60) is killed and his wife is wounded, and houses on Kraljevica Marka and Nemanjina streets in the town center are damaged.116 Vranje is reportedly attacked for the sixth time: this time the barracks in a densely populated northeast area is said to be the target. Civil defense authorities say that "The missiles dropped on the town this morning rocked the buildings and stirred dense clouds of smoke, which obscured the sun and plunged the area into semi-darkness."117 The villages (suburbs) of Katun and Meredovac are also reported attacked.118
NATO states that it bombed a Vranje Army barracks on May 30.119
Human Rights Watch visited the site on August 12, inspected the damage and took eyewitness testimony. The intended target was the "Simo Pogacerevic" military barracks, which was also hit.
81. In a 1:00-1:25 p.m. attack on the Varvarin bridge over the Velika Morava river in central Serbia, nine civilians are killed and some forty are wounded. Reported killed are: Sanja Milenkovic (17), Milan Savic (24), Vojkan Stankovic (31), Zoran Marinkovic (33), Stojan Ristic (56), Ruzica Simonovic (60), priest Milivoje Ciric (66), Dragoslav Terzic (68), and Tola Apostolovic (74).120 Tanjug says local people were attending the town's market on the holiday Svete Trojice when the daylight attack happened at 1 p.m. local time. Witnesses said four cars fell into the river. Rescuers who went to aid of the wounded were hit in a second attack. Tanjug and the Yugoslav government reports eleven killed and at least forty wounded.121 There is damage to the "Plaza" hotel, the St. Bogordica church, and the municipal assembly building.
On June 2, Tanjug reported that six persons have been listed as missing since the NATO attack. It again reported eleven killed and "about forty" wounded. It states that nine victims had so far been identified.122
NATO confirms the attack and states that a precision-guided munition (PGM) was used. Spokesman Jamie Shea said the alliance had bombed a "legitimate designated military target" and stated that "we take the same precautions at midday as we do at midnight." "There is always a cost to defeat an evil," he says. "It never comes free, unfortunately. But the cost of failure to defeat a great evil is far higher."123
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4343444/E02122405) on August 11, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. The attack took place in the afternoon on Sunday, the market day. During the first explosion, no one was killed. In the second explosion, some seven minutes later, according to eyewitnesses, people were killed on and around the bridge. Among them was the priest Milivoje Ciric, who, after the first blast, interrupted the service in the nearby St. Bogorodica church, to go to the bridge. Varvarin is located on a secondary road between the main E-75 Nis-Belgrade highway and Krusevac. The bridge that was destroyed was not the main link to the north (which was not bombed); it was only a local bridge.
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
82. In an 8:05-9:15 a.m. attack on targets in the area of Mt. Avala, one civilian is killed and five are wounded in the village of Ripanj, fifteen kilometers south of Belgrade.124 Slavica Stojiljkovic (60) is killed in Ripanj village at no. 48 Put za Ivanovice street.125 Three or four weapons reportedly land in the village near the route leading to Ivanovice.126 Tanjug reports that the entire Avala area is bombed.127
NATO states that it attacked the nearby command bunker at Mt. Avala, Belgrade army barracks (possibly at Zuce on the foothills of Avala), a Belgrade military storage area, and a Belgrade AM radio broadcast station on May 30.128
Human Rights Watch visited the area on August 3, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. The Stojiljkovic home was located at N4439595/E02031274. The "Suplja stena" (hollow rock) barracks (N4439841/E02032412), which appears to be an entrance and/or support base for underground bunkers, is located some 400 meters from the house. According to local residents, Suplja stena is an ex-coalmine, and now functions as an "ammunition depot." According to eyewitnesses, another weapon made a crater near Ripanj village homes in the woods, though the area was inaccessible to Human Rights Watch. Villagers from Ripanj told Human Rights Watch the mountainside military installations were attacked "every other night."
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
May 31
83. In an 8:00-8:40 a.m. attack on the Vranje TV/radio transmitter in southeastern Serbia, one civilian is killed in Neradovac village to the south of the city: Leposava Ristic (75).129 Yugoslav civil defense authorities state that the intended target was the radio and television transmitter on Mt. Plackovica overlooking Vranje. The transmitter was already damaged in earlier raids, the authorities said.130
NATO confirms attacking a TV/FM relay station in Vranje on May 31.131
84. In a 1:30 p.m. attack on the military barracks in Novi Pazar in southern Serbia, eleven civilians are killed and twenty-three are wounded.132 Killed are: Marko Simic (2), Marko Roglic (16), Djordje Pantovic (24), Dejan Milosevic (27), Miodrag Nikic (29), Vladan Simic (30), Golub Ratkovic (32), Zvezdan Jajic (37), Dragomirka Biorac (38), Dragan Simovic (46), and Radun ("Raco") Vranic (47). The Yugoslav government initially reports ten people killed and more than twenty wounded when an apartment building in the vicinity of the bus station in the town center was hit. The "Jedinstvo" publishing/media company building housing the local Radio Novi Pazar and RTS office was also hit133 as was the "TK Raska" textile factory building near the city bus station.134 Tanjug said that twenty missiles fell on various targets in Novi Pazar with the apartment taking a direct hit. More bodies were believed buried in the rubble. The news agency also reported that the target included the Jedinstvo complex.
NATO confirms attacking a Novi Pazar radio relay site and the Novi Pazar army barracks on May 31.135 NATO states that a weapon went astray during an attack on the army barracks. Spokesman Jamie Shea said that five out of six munitions hit the target but one overshot by about 60 meters.
Human Rights Watch visited the site on August 10, inspected the damage and interviewed eyewitnesses. Eyewitnesses said that there were three "groups" of people who died: some were leaving the Jedinstvo offices; some were waiting for the bus at the bus stop adjacent to an apartment building at No. 74 Stevana Nemanje street (or were passing by) (N4308815/E02031202); and some were in the stores located on the ground floor of No. 74 or at a butcher's shop belonging to Djordje Pantovic nextdoor to the building. The bus stop services a route to Novopazarska Banja and to Izbice, villages inhabited mostly by Serbs. This may explain the strange coincidence that all killed were ethnic Serbs, even thoughthe city of Novi Pazar is primarily made up of Muslims. A house on Miodraga Jovanovica street is also reported as destroyed.136
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
85. In a 2:00 p.m. attack on the Raska highway bridge in southern Serbia, one civilian is killed in the village of Brvenik. Sasa Knezevic (31) is killed.137 Telephone lines are reported down with Novi Pazar, Raska, Sjenica and Tutin.138
A precision-guided munition (PGM) was used in the attack. NATO confirms attacking the Raska highway bridge on May 31.139
86. In an attack on an unidentified target near the village of Drazevac near Obrenovac in central Serbia, one civilian is killed. Jovanka Arsenijevic (76) is killed in her home at no. 192 Baljevacki Put.140
NATO confirms attacking an electric power transmission tower near Obrenovac and the Obrenovac army barracks on May 31.141
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
June 6
87. In an attack on a radio relay site in in Rudnik near Kosovska Mitrovica in Kosovo, one civilian is killed and another is injured. Dragutin Todorovic (age unknown) from Krusevac dies of injuries caused in the bombing. Milenko Mihajlovic was slightly wounded in the same attack. They both were members of a Krusevac Union delegation carrying out humanitarian aid.142
NATO confirms attacking a radio relay site at Rudnik on June 6.143
88. In a 6:27 p.m. attack on unidentified targets in the Gnjilane area in Kosovo, one civilian is killed and one is wounded. Stojanka Aksic is killed and Stanislav Petrovic seriously wounded in the village of Donja Budriga near Gnjilane.144
June 7
89. In a 4:30 p.m. attack on the Podgorac military storage depot north of Boljevac in southeastern Serbia, three civilians are killed. Nebojsa Srbulovic (37), Milija Andrejevic (54), and Slavka Trikanovic (59) are killed at the "Ekohrana" livestock farm.145 According to the Serbian civil defense command, two people were killed outright and the third died on the way to hospital.146 Seven buildings at the farm, where 2,500 sheep were being kept, were reported destroyed.147
NATO states that it attacked a military storage depot at Podgorac on June 7.148
The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.
June 8
90. In a 12:15 a.m. attack on the petroleum storage area at the Novi Sad refinery in Vojvodina, one civilian is killed and six are wounded. Milan Bajic (37) from 7th street in the nearby Sangaj ("Shangai") settlement is killed. One eleven-year-old boy reportedly suffers heavy injuries.149 Yugoslav civil defense authorities and the Yugoslav press report two detonations, "the biggest so far in the 75 days of bombing."150 The Yugoslav government reports that "The town was illuminated and thick smoke was rising from the oil refinery. A number of missiles have been fired at Mt. Fruska Gora zone."151 According to Dr. Djordje Janjic, director of the clinical center in Novi Sad, six persons who were wounded when a weapon landed in the Sangaj neighborhood were admitted to the center. One soon died of injuries.152
NATO confirms attacking the petroleum storage site at Novi Sad on June 7.153
Human Rights Watch visited the site (N4516822/E01951292) on August 15, inspected the damage and took eyewitness testimony. The Yugoslav government provides forensic detail of the incident in its White Book.