BBC World Service
Thursday, 18 January, 2001, 17:32 GMT

Eighth Italian dies after
Balkans duty

The Italian defence minister, Sergio Mattarella,
has announced the death of an eighth Italian
soldier who served with the NATO-led
peacekeeping forces in the Balkans.

The latest victim, Pasquale Cinelli, who served
in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Albania, died of
stomach cancer in November.

Mr Mattarella said Italy supported a United
Nations plan to investigate NATO's use of
munitions tipped with depleted-uranium in
Bosnia.

Meanwhile, the NATO-led Stabilisation Force in
Bosnia, SFOR, says its investigation of a site
near Sarajevo where depleted uranium was
found showed no significant health hazard to
local people.

German troops carried out tests in the suburb,
where a munitions depot was bombed in 1995.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service