Part 7/10:
By the early 1990s, the simmering tensions erupted into open conflict. As Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence in June 1991, fighting broke out to suppress secession. The burgeoning civil war resulted in significant violence and loss of life, with factions aligning primarily along ethnic lines. Croatia's new leader Franjo Tudman’s rhetoric against Serbian influence heightened fears among ethnic Serbs, inciting them to fight for their rights within Croatia.
The Yugoslav Wars that followed marked a dark period in the federation’s history. Bosnia and Herzegovina soon joined the fray as ethnic violence and divisions bled into newfound rivalries. The brutal civil wars unfolded against a backdrop of fading communist authority and growing economic despair.