War crimes tribunal may probe uranium use
The chief prosecutor of the international war crimes tribunal says NATO's use of depleted uranium may be investigated as a possible war crime.
Carla del Ponte said the tribunal would be forced to investigate the use of the metal in the Balkans conflicts if it found enough evidence.
The Swiss-born magistrate said the body had already looked into the use of the substance during NATO's 1999 campaign in Kosovo.
In an interview, published by Corriere della Sera, she the tribunal did not have enough elements to proceed with an investigation into the conflict.
Italy and several other NATO members are carrying out their own investigations to see if a number of cancer cases among veterans of Balkans conflicts are linked to the use of NATO ammunition containing depleted uranium.
