NATO hits 30 targets in Yugoslavia

BRUSSELS, APRIL 21: NATO warplanes struck 30 targets overnight, blasting Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's party headquarters in Be...

BRUSSELS, APRIL 21: NATO warplanes struck 30 targets overnight, blasting Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s party headquarters in Belgrade as US Apache attack helicopters prepared to move to Albania today.

NATO sources said that as the air war went into its second month, alliance aircraft hit the last remaining bridge over River Danube at Novi Sad as well as other bridges, radio relay stations and oil and ammunition dumps.

Cloudy weather meant some raids were unsuccessful while others had to be cancelled.

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The attack that set the Serbian Socialist Party headquarters ablaze was part of NATO’s attempts to bring the air campaign closer to those in Belgrade whom it holds responsible for the mass expulsion of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo.

“It’s an intensification of our attacks on the leadership,” a NATO official said.

NATO was also expected to step up attacks on Yugoslav army and police units in Kosovo following the deployment to Tirana of 24 Apache tank-busting helicopters from jumping-off basesin Italy.

NATO says Serb forces have been using refugees as human shields to deter alliance attacks as well as mixing refugees in with military convoys.

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There were still reports from aid officials of a 25 km convoy of refugees heading southwards to Macedonia.

“They are being herded like cattle,” the NATO official said.

The alliance believes Milosevic might use these refugees to destabilise neighbouring countries in the way that he had been using his military forces.