 |
U.S. deploys aircraft for Bosnian broadcast mission
September 11, 1997
Web posted at: 12:00 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States is sending three specialized aircraft to Bosnia in an attempt to curb the inflammatory rhetoric of Bosnian Serb television and radio, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.
The EC-130E aircraft, which are capable of broadcasting and jamming local radio and television waves, will be accompanied by about 120 personnel from a specialized Air Force National Guard unit in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said spokesman Col. Richard Bridges.
The deployment of the planes was requested by NATO commanders in Bosnia "in response to the perceived pattern of vehement rhetoric and incitement to violence" broadcast on Bosnian Serb television and radio, Bridges said.
The planes, nicknamed "Commando Solo," will be based in Brindisi, Italy, and are slated to fly over Bosnia during this weekend's crucial round of municipal elections.
The United Nations is to produce broadcasts that can be transmitted from the planes to the Bosnian people. The planes could also be used to jam Bosnian Serb broadcasts.
One of the specially outfitted aircraft departed on Wednesday, but has been delayed by technical problems in Gander, Newfoundland. One was to depart Thursday, and a third on Friday, Bridges said.
The EC-130E is a C-130 cargo plane that contains an airborne television station. The aircraft was used in Somalia and Haiti to relay announcements to local people or to interfere with radio broadcasts on the ground.
Related stories:
- NATO: Coup attempt against Bosnian leader thwarted - September 9, 1997
- Bosnian hard-liners stage defiant rally - September 8, 1997
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
|
Sound off on our message boards
You said it... |
|
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.