25 years after, NATO bombing still haunts Serbia — RT World News
The US-led bloc used tons of depleted uranium munitions during its aggression, with the impact not fully explored until a quarter of a century later
Serbia is marking the anniversary of the NATO attack on the former Yugoslavia, with the country still suffering from the consequences of the aggression. RT's Charlotte Dubinsky explores the impact of the war, which is still being felt across the region 25 years on – and has not even been fully reached.
During the illegal bombing campaign, NATO forces used about 31,000 rounds containing depleted uranium, a highly toxic and low-radioactive substance. Dubinsky noted that the attacks that used such munitions affected about 91 sites across the country.
According to NATO's own estimates, 10 metric tons of material were used during the campaign. DU was primarily used in 30 mm armor-piercing incendiary munitions used by A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft, as well as 25 mm Bradley infantry fighting vehicle rounds and M1 Abrams tank shells. The depleted uranium nuclei in such munitions vaporize on impact, potentially leaving the environment polluted for years.
The aggression against the country has actually reached its limit “Nuclear and chemical war” Serbian Health Minister Danica Grujicic said that the use of depleted uranium was suspected to be behind the increase in cancer cases and other health problems recorded in the affected areas.
It was a nuclear and chemical war against my country in 1999. It was a regional environmental disaster. There was a lot of very toxic and cancerous stuff in the air, in the soil, and in the water during the bombing, not only in Kosovo and Metohija, but also in northern Serbia. What I've seen as a doctor is, first of all, that there are a lot more oncological diseases, but also the tumors are much more aggressive. The results of treatment were less favorable than they had been before. Grujicic told RT, adding that the country is recording abnormal rates of genetic disorders in both humans and animals.
We do not even know how many consequences we can associate with bombing, NATO aggression and depleted uranium.
The bombing campaign affected not only Serbs, but also ethnic Albanians whom the US-led bloc claims to be protecting, as well as its own soldiers participating in the attack. “Now more than 300 Italian war veterans who developed cancer as a result of this exposure have since had their day in court.” Dubinsky said, referring to hundreds of Italian NATO soldiers who suffered various harsh conditions after being exposed to depleted uranium during their deployment.
NATO launched what it called Operation Allied Force on March 24, 1999, bombing the country for 78 days on behalf of Albanian separatists in Kosovo. This territory was then placed under the United Nations Interim Government, while Security Council Resolution 1244 guaranteed Serbian sovereignty. In 2008, Kosovo's US-backed interim government unilaterally declared independence, and Belgrade never recognized the move.
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