Here is an interesting Press Association dispatch. It's possibly significant that "the successful end of the air campaign" might be thought near enough that a couple of the hardest-ass regiments in the British Army would be among the units to link up with the US Marines for a possible ground war....things might really be getting bloody before long, the Paras and the Gurkhas aren't noted for restraint. And deploying the RAF to Corsica! That's where the French préfet and the gendarmerie have recently been trying to blame each other for burning down restaurants belonging to Corsican nationalists. Has the Corsican movement expressed a view about the war in Yugoslavia, I wonder?
K. Mickey
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/headlines/19990515/news/926789300-1-1.html Saturday May 15, 6:28 PM GMT
Elite Troops Put On Stand-By For Kosovo
The Government has ordered some of Britain's elite fighting troops to prepare to go into Kosovo as Nato suggested the latest civilian casualties in the province could have been victims of a Serb "human shield" operation.
Armed Forces Minister Doug Henderson told the daily Ministry of Defence press briefing that an extra 2,300 infantry, gunners and engineers were being put on stand-by to reinforce the troops already in the Balkans.
They include 679 soldiers from the Parachute Regiment based at Aldershot and another 680 troops from the Royal Gurkhas.
Mr Henderson said: "Can I make it clear that no decision has yet been made to deploy these forces. It is prudent planning for the successful end of the air campaign."
He also announced RAF Tornados operating from RAF Bruggen in Germany were being "forward deployed" to a new base on the island of Corsica to put them within easier reach of their targets.
The announcement came as Nato has admitted that it attacked the Kosovo village of Korisa where the Serbs claim at least 79 ethnic Albanian refugees died.
But alliance spokesman Jamie Shea insisted they had hit a legitimate military target and hinted the ethnic Albanians could have been ordered into a troop area by the Serbs.
"We have conducted an extremely extensive review of this incident," Mr Shea said.
"We know very well this was a legitimate military target, the pilot also observed dug-in military positions at the target before executing the attack."
Mr Shea also said there were reports of soldiers being among the casualties and warned commentators to be "cautious" when dealing with Serb claims about the casualties.