The war ( s ) have alternatively been called : Clear ethnic conflict between the Yugoslav peoples only became prominent in the 20th century , beginning with tensions over the constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs , Croats , and Slovenes in the early 1920s and escalating into violence between Serbs and Croats in the late 1920s after the assassination of Croatian politician Stjepan Radić . During World War II the Croatian Ustaše committed a number of atrocities against the Serbs , as did their Serbian Chetnik opponents against the Croats and Bosniaks . The Yugoslav Partisan movement was able to appeal to all groups , including Serbs , Croats , and Bosniaks . In Serbia and Serb-dominated territories , violent confrontations occurred , particularly between nationalists and non-nationalists who criticized the Serbian government and the Serb political entities in Bosnia and Croatia . Serbs who publicly opposed the nationalist political climate during the Yugoslav wars were reportedly harassed , threatened , or killed
against the Serbs
Persecution of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia
Yugoslav Wars