NATO bombing of the Radio Television of Serbia headquarters
| NATO bombing of RTS | |
|---|---|
| Part of Kosovo War | |
Building of RTS damaged in NATO strike |
|
| Type | Missile attack |
| Location | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Target | Television station |
| Date | April 23, 1999 02:06 hrs (CET) |
| Executed by | NATO |
| Casualties | 16 killed ? injured |
|
|||||
The NATO bombing of the Serb Radio and Television headquarters occurred on 23 April 1999, during the Kosovo War, when NATO destroyed the headquarters of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) network in Belgrade. Sixteen employees of RTS died when a single NATO rocket hit the building in Belgrade. Many were trapped for days, only communicating over mobile phones. The television station went to air 24 hours later from a secret location.[1][2]
The bombing started controversy in Serbia, as it turned out that employees were not properly evacuated and that more than the minimum necessary people staffed the building at that time.
A new building has been built next to the bombed station while a monument was erected to all of those who have died in the attack.
The murder of British TV-presenter Jill Dando three days later on Monday 26 April 1999 may be linked to the NATO bombings.[3]
[edit] See also
- Kosovo War
- Operation Allied Force
- Legitimacy of NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
- 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
[edit] References
- ^ Was the Serbian TV station really a legitimate target?, by Claudio Cordone and Avner Gidron
- ^ "Nato challenged over Belgrade bombing". BBC News. 2001-10-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1616461.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ David Leppard (22 February 2009). "Serb 'admits killing Jill Dando' in revenge for Nato bombs". Times Online (London: Times Newspapers). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5780305.ece.
[edit] External links
- Full List of Casualties, compiled by the International News Safety Institute
- Press release of ECtHR on case Markovic v. Italy, concerning Italy's responsibility for death of civilians during the attack
| This Serbia-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |