Answer:
A. to preserve their ethnic identity
Step-by-step explanation:
The Croatian War or the Croatian War of Independence took place in Croatia from 1991 to 1995. Initially, the war developed between Croatia and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA, dominated by the Serbs). Later, the conflict resulted in a struggle between the troops of the newly independent Croatia and the rebel forces of the Serbian minority, which proclaimed the Serbian Republic of Krajina. The Serbs were supported by the Yugoslav People's Army. The Croatian side aimed to establish sovereignty for the Republic of Croatia, formerly constituted as a socialist republic within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, while the Serbs wanted to stay in Yugoslavia, seeking new limits in parts of Croatia with ethnic Serb majority or with an influential Serbian minority. The war was particularly shocking because of its brutality in a relatively developed society in Europe and in modern times.