Monday, January 18, 1999 Published at 01:38 GMT

World: Europe

Nato sends in the generals

Identifying the dead: Over 40 ethnic Albanians were killed

Nato is sending two top military officers to Belgrade in response to the

killing of more than 40 ethnic Albanians in southern Kosovo.

Nato Secretary-General Javier Solana said Generals Wesley Clark, the supreme

allied commander in Europe, and Klaus Naumann, chairman of Nato's Military

Committee, would "impress upon the Yugoslav authorities the gravity of the

situation and their obligation to respect all their commitments to Nato".

The BBC correspondent in Brussels, Angus Roxburgh, says the two generals will

give a final warning to both sides in the Kosovo conflict to end the violence.

Angus Roxburgh: The generals will take a tough message to Belgrade

"They will make clear that the option for air strikes against Serbia remains

open and that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic will avoid them only if he

complies fully with existing United Nations resolutions calling for an end to

violence," he said.

Nato's decision to send the generals to the Yugoslav capital has been endorsed

by the United States. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said through her

spokesman that it was "extremely important" that President Milosevic realise

the gravity of the situation.

Massacre condemned

Following an emergency meeting on Sunday, Nato condemned the massacre carried

out in the village of Racak last Friday as a "flagrant violation of

international humanitarian law".

In his statement on behalf of the 16 Nato countries and three accessor

countries, Dr Solana said President Milosevic "must comply with all his

commitments to Nato".

He added: "The council calls on the Yugoslav authorities to comply fully with

the international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia."

This would include granting "immediate and unrestricted access" to the chief

prosecutor Louise Arbour and to international forensic investigators, said Dr

Solana.

'Bring killers to justice'

The Nato secretary-general said: "The council demands that the government of

the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia take immediate steps to ensure that those

responsible for this massacre are brought to justice.

Paul Wood reports from Racak: Villagers fled as soon as Serbian police moved

in

"Nato calls on both sides to cease hostilies immediately and to begin

negotiations towards a lasting political solution which provides greater

autonomy for Kosovo and which preserves the territorial integrity of the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."

Local villagers said the slaughter of the victims, mostly men aged between 18

and 65, was carried out by Serb forces who rounded the group up on Friday

night.

Serbs dismiss reports

But Serbia dismissed reports of the massacre and said its forces came under

attack while they were investigating the murder of a policeman.

The Serbian deputy prime minister has defended the Serbian police operation at

Racak, saying the police had only shot at "terrorists" who had opened fire at

them.

Vojislav Seselj said on Sunday that the Kosovo Albanian fighters had tricked

OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission chief William Walker and Western media.

However, US President Bill Clinton and Mr Walker both blamed Serbian forces

for the killings.

Nato's announcement came after renewed fighting erupted around Racak on

Sunday. Serbian security forces were firing towards the village from the

nearby hills, and units were seen moving into the village. The police also

sent large numbers of armoured vehicles into the area.