French Defense Minister Alain Richard Thursday added his voice to those of his counterparts in Italy, Portugal and Belgium who are asking NATO to supply more information about the use of depleted uranium in weapons deployed in the Balkans.
"We are calling on our American partners to be open on the subject," Richard told journalists.
On Wednesday NATO agreed to an Italian request to hold a meeting next week to examine fears that exposure to depleted uranium may have led to the deaths of six Italian soldiers who served with NATO forces in Kosovo and Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Soldiers in Portugal and Belgium have also been diagnosed with leukemia, but NATO has insisted there is no evidence to link the illnesses with the use of radio-active components in missiles.
NATO officials said last month that US aircraft fired more than 10,000 depleted uranium projectiles in Bosnia between 1994 and 1995, and in Kosovo in 1999.
Depleted uranium munitions are more dense than conventional ones, allowing them to penetrate heavy armor more easily. In addition to the Balkans, they were used in Iraq in 1991 -- PARIS (AFP)
