 In 1990 , following the electoral defeat of the government of the Socialist Republic of Croatia , ethnic tensions between Croats and Croatian Serbs worsened . The Yugoslav People 's Army ( <unk> <unk> <unk> – <unk> ) believed Croatia would use the Croatian Territorial Defence Force 's ( <unk> <unk> – <unk> ) equipment to build its own army and confront the <unk> itself . In order to minimize the expected resistance , the <unk> confiscated the <unk> weapons . On 17 August , the tensions escalated into an open revolt of the Croatian Serbs . 
