The centre of Belgrade came under attack from eight cruise missiles launched by NATO early this morning, setting the Yugoslav and Serbian Interior Ministry buildings ablaze.
Huge flames lit the sky above Kneza Milosa boulevard after an explosion at 12.45 a.m. local time. "The damage is enormous," said Serbian television.
Police cordoned off the area around the Interior Ministry building - the centre of power for police forces accused by NATO of atrocities against Kosovo's ethnic Albanians. Belgrade city authorities said there were no casualties. Later, U.S. officials in Washington confirmed that Belgrade had been attacked with cruise missiles launched from British and US warships in the Adriatic sea.
As concern grows about the plight of refugees from Kosovo, President Clinton has sent a special envoy to neighbouring countries to give them assurances of humanitarian aid and for their security. He has described the humanitarian situation in Kosovo as "grave".
The President made it clear that the NATO air strikes will continue over the Easter weekend despite pleas from Pope John Paul, the US Catholic cardinals and leaders of other churches for a suspension of the bombing during the religious festivities.
Following a meeting at the White House with relief agencies, the President said he had been "very impressed" to hear that refugees coming out of Kosovo "strongly support" the NATO air strikes. The refugees are "quite clear that what is happening to them was planned for quite a long while" by President Slobodan Milosevic.
The President said that there is now "no doubt that Mr Milosevic wants to keep the land of Kosovo and rid it of its people". But "ultimately we want to make it possible for victims to return home to live in security and enjoy self-government".
The President hinted that there could be some flexibility in the international force which would assure the refugees of their security when they return to Kosovo. Under the Rambouillet peace settlement, this force would be a NATO one but this was rejected by President Milosevic.
There has been speculation that an international force involving Russia, which is not a NATO member, would be acceptable to Mr Milosevic. President Clinton said that while the Russians are "looking for ways to oppose what NATO is doing", they are also leaving open "the prospect they can play a very constructive role in making the peace".
Mr Strobe Talbott, the deputy Secretary of State, is heading a US delegation which will visit Albania, Macedonia and Greece in the coming days to assess the humanitarian crisis and to give assurances on security.
Ms Julia Taft, assistant secretary of state for refugees, said at the White House that the figures for the flight from Kosovo are higher than earlier estimates. "We think there are about 900,000 Kosovar Albanians left" from a population that originally totalled about 1.8 million, she said.
The London Times reports today that Gen Wesley Clark, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, no longer needs permission from all of the military alliance's 19 ambassadors for every attack on Yugoslavia.
"NATO's top general was given the go-ahead by his political masters yesterday `to take off the gloves' and inflict a massive military defeat on President Milosevic," the newspaper said.
NATO said that Yugoslav "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo had forced more than 634,000 Albanians, or one third of the original population, to flee their homes over the past year of conflict.
Serb paramilitaries were continuing what NATO called a campaign of terrorising ethnic Albanians and security forces were taking advantage of the situation to "loot and pillage".
A spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said: "The situation is catastrophic." Ms Judith Kumin said: "There is no sign of an end to the flow. The refugees report that tens of thousands of people are being rounded up in Pristina to be expelled."
"All humanitarian organisations are overwhelmed," with the Kosovo Albanians arriving at international borders. The European Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Ms Emma Bonino, after a visit to refugee encampments, called for and international military presence in Kosovo.
"This system of closed trains, locked and bolted, carrying people who have no papers, are pictures straight out of Schlindler's List," she said.