NATO bombing of the Radio Television of Serbia headquarters

Main article: Civilian casualties inflicted during Operation Allied Force

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

Eternal Flame monument in Novi Beograd, dedicated to the civilian victims of NATO attacks.

This Tašmajdan park memorial to the victims of the April 23,1999 NATO bombing includes names, ages, and job descriptions of each person killed in the attack. At the bottom of the memorial there is a photo of the building taken just after the attack during rescue operations.

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]

See also

• Kosovo War
• Operation Allied Force
• Legitimacy of NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
• Strategic Bombardment in the Kosovo War

References

1. ^ Was the Serbian TV station really a legitimate target?, by Claudio Cordone and Avner Gidron
2. ^ "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. 
3. ^ 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. 

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