 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 ( Jugoslavenska narodna armija – JNA ) believed Croatia would use the Croatian Territorial Defence Force 's ( Teritorijalna obrana – TO ) equipment to build its own army and confront the JNA itself . In order to minimize the expected resistance , the JNA confiscated the TO weapons . On 17 August , the tensions escalated into an open revolt of the Croatian Serbs . 
