Clark

December 9, 1999
Web posted at: 11:32 p.m. EST (0432 GMT)

In this story: 'We were extremely careful' Milosevic is warned over Montenegro RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO's military commander, says the Russian military is randomly killing civilians in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, as he said Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic sought to do in Kosovo.

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Clark was responding Thursday to Moscow's claims that the Russian military campaign in Chechnya was no different than NATO operations in Yugoslavia last spring.

Clark told reporters at the Pentagon that Russia's "methodology of unrestricted use of firepower and the apparent actions against civilian targets" differed significantly from NATO's 78-day air campaign over Kosovo and Yugoslavia.

"We (NATO) were extremely careful in our Kosovo (bombing) campaign," Clark said. "We took incredible risks with our pilots, and we were very inhibited in the use of air power to prevent collateral damage."

Clark said, "I don't see those inhibitions" in Chechnya. "I think they're doing in Chechnya what Milosevic tried to do in Kosovo.

However, NATO's supreme allied military commander stopped short of accusing the Russians of ethnic cleansing in their assault with artillery and bombs against Islamic rebels in Chechnya and its capital of Grozny.

Clark also said that Milosevic himself has been warned not to move against the independence-minded government of Montenegro, one of the two republics that comprise Yugoslavia.

Montenegro, under the leadership of pro-Western President Milo Djukanovic, has threatened to declare independence if Milosevic does not reform their joint federation.

"He (Djukanovic) has declared the deutche mark as an alternative currency," Clark said. "He's taken some other measures to try to help Montenegro develop its economy for the benefit of its people."

Clark added, "We know that there are pressures and intimidations coming from Serbia and Mr. Milosevic. We're watching this very, very closely."

Producer Chris Plante, Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and Reuters contributed to this report.

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