Croatian Serb insurgents, and preventing Croatian police from intervening. In early April, the leaders of the Croatian Serb revolt declared their intention to integrate the area under their control, known as SAO Krajina, with Serbia. The Government of Croatia viewed this declaration as an attempt to secede. In May, the Croatian government responded by forming the Croatian National Guard (Zbor narodne garde - ZNG), but its development was hampered by a United Nations (UN) arms embargo introduced in September. On 8 October, Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia, and a month later the ZNG was renamed the Croatian Army (Hrvatska vojska - HV). Late 1991 saw the fiercest fighting of the war, as the Yugoslav campaign in Croatia culminated in the Siege of Dubrovnik, and the Battle of Vukovar. Prelude The Saborsko Independent Company, consisting of approximately 30 personnel, was stationed in the village by the Croatian police the day after the Plitvice Lakes incident on 1 April 1991. The tensions worsened in July. That month the JNA distributed 1,000 small arms to ethnic Serbs living in Gorski kotar region, including Plaški. Skirmishes took place near Josipdol and Plaški. In June–August, Saborsko was targeted by artillery and mortars positioned at JNA barracks in Lička Jasenica, and the bulk of its civilian population fled by early August. However, approximately 400 returned to their homes the same month after 20–30 special police troops were deployed from Duga Resa to Saborsko along with 15–20 regular police drawn from Slunj as reinforcements. On 25 September, 100–200 police reservists arrived to Saborsko from Zagreb. The final Croatian reinforcements arrived in October, consisting of 20–50 police. By October, a pocket of Croatian-controlled territory formed around the town of Slunj south of Karlovac, on the boundary of the regions of Kordun and Lika, hampering direct communications between SAO Krajina-held areas in the two regions. The pocket was separated from the bulk of the Croatian Government-controlled territory by the SAO Krajina-controlled town of Plaški to the west. In turn, Plaški was inaccessible to the central SAO Krajina authorities as the road to Plaški ran through the village of Saborsko, situated within the Slunj pocket. In early October, the JNA and the SAO Krajina TO launched a joint offensive which was aimed at capturing the peripheral areas of the Slunj pocket. The JNA also planned to airlift 44 truckloads of weapons from Željava Air Base to Gorski kotar and raise