NATO Use of Banned Ammunition Incurs Radiation Contamination in KosovoThe Yugoslav government Thursday accused the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of violating international war and humanitarian norms by using depleted uranium ammunition during its final airstrikes on Kosovo.It cited a survey report as saying that the Western military bloc had employed the internationally banned ammunition during its March-June operation in Kosovo in a quantity 10 times more than used elsewhere, which has created severe environmental problems in the Yugoslav province. The report, based on tests on a variety of samples collected, was conducted by Yugoslav researchers. They pointed out that the radiation contamination in "some samples was 1,000 times above the level that jeopardizes the population and the environment." The Yugoslav government said it has taken every possible step it could to reduce the radiation impact on the environment, while providing physical examination services and medical treatments to those Kosovo residents exposed to the radiation. A German news agency, DPA, reported Wednesday that NATO admitted using armor-piercing uranium depleted ammunition against Yugoslav tanks in Kosovo. |
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