Medical experts have not yet concluded whether the symptoms were caused by the sophisticated weaponry used by the alliance in that war or not. Now, more cases of cancer have been diagnosed among soldTers who once served as peacekeepers in the Balkans. The other day, the UN said it had found evidence of radioactivity at eight of the eleven sites tested in Kosovo after they were hit by shells tipped with depleted uranium during a sustained NATO aerial campaign in 1999. Fears are now sweeping countries whose troops were deployed there in the aftermath of the relentless bombing of Yugoslavia. Governments have ordered medical tests for them in a bid to allay mounting fears.
Similar testing is planned for civilian personnel, who served in the Balkans.
The US, which led the allied bombardment, has flatly denied that depleted uranium used in the campaign caused the illness and deaths. Still, this has not relieved runaway anxiety. Oddly enough, in the heated row triggered over both the Gulf illness or Balkan Syndrome, nothing whatsoever has been mentioned about the real victims of the strikes, i.e. the Iraqis and the Yugoslavs. Rumor has it that the weapons, thought to be the cause of both syndromes, made their debut in allied action in both war zones. Although the claims remain unconfirmed, there is a strong possibility that civilians in Iraq and Yugoslavia have been exposed to the hazards and might well have developed similar suspected illnesses.