An already tense situation in the Lika region, following 1 April Plitvice Lakes incident when the first fatalities of the Croatian War of Independence occurred,[REF] deteriorated further in June when Croatia reaffirmed its sovereignty through a parliamentary declaration.
With the imminent capture of Plitvice and the withdrawal of the ZNG from Lički Osik on 31 August, north of Gospić, the SAO Krajina and the JNA shifted their focus in Lika to Gospić itself,[REF] where Serbs comprised 38.4% of the total population of 12,000 [REF].