World 6:40 PM GMT+8, Saturday May 8
BRUSSELS, May 8 (AFP) - Two bombing errors Friday, a raid on a market and hospital in Nis in which 15 people were killed and a missile hit on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade that reportedly killed three, marked an escalation in the rate of NATO blunders in its air campaign against Yugoslavia.
NATO admitted overnight to its seventh error since the airstrikes began on March 24, saying it was "highly probable" that a cluster bomb went astray and hit civilian buildings in Nis, Serbia's second largest city.
Within minutes of the confession of error in Washington and Brussels, the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was hit by NATO missiles, reportedly killing two and sparking outrage from Beijing and Moscow.
Stressing that the bombing campaign would continue, NATO said it had not targetted the embassy and expressed regret for the accident.
So far NATO blunders, which the Alliance claims are few in comparison to the number of raids its had carried out, have claimed at least 220 lives among the civilian population, according to a Serbian tally unconfirmed by NATO. NATO insists that it is trying to keep civilian deaths to a minimum in its operations.
The following are the NATO errors recorded to date.
April 5: Seventeen people died in an air raid on Aleksinac, 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Belgrade, according to Tanjug news agency, when a 250 kilogramme laser-guided bomb missed its target and fell on a residential area. The Pentagon said a US aircraft was responsible.
April 9: NATO admitted hitting civilian homes in a strike on a telephone exchange in Pristina, regretting "unintended damage or loss of civilian life" when a bomb struck "some 200 to 300 metres from the target." No precise death toll was given by either side.
April 12: Some 55 passengers died, according to Belgrade, when two missiles were fired at a railway bridge at Grdelica Klisura, some 300 kilometers south of Belgrade, as a train was crossing. A NATO spokesman said the bridge was part of a crucial supply line for Serb forces in Kosovo.
April 14: The Yugoslav authorities accused NATO of killing 75 people and injuring 25 others in strikes on two refugee columns near Djacovica, in southwestern Kosovo. On April 19, NATO said it was attempting to neutralise military vehicles and admitted targetting two convoys but did not confirm civilian losses.
April 28: NATO admitted it had mistakenly bombed a residential area at Surdulica, 250 kilometres south of Belgrade, during an attack on an army barracks. Serbian media report around 20 deaths. NATO said a missile overshot its target.
May 1: NATO hit a bus crossing a bridge at Luzane, north of Pristina, causing 47 deaths among the passengers, according to Serbian officials. NATO said the bus appeared after an attacking aircraft released its weapon against the bridge, which it described as being on a key military communications route.
May 7: NATO admitted it was "highly probable" that a cluster bomb went astray and hit civilian buildings at Nis, killing 15 and injuring dozens of others, according to the Tanjug news agency. The same day, the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was hit by NATO missiles, reportedly killing three people. NATO has disclaimed responsibility for the destruction of a bus during a raid near Pec, in Kosovo, on May 3 in which 17 people were killed, according to Serbian sources.