At the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence, in 1991–1992, a non-Serb population of more than 220,000 was forcibly removed from Serb-held territories in Croatia, as the RSK was established. In the wake of Operation Storm, a part of those refugees, as well as Croat refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, settled in a substantial number of housing units in the area formerly held by the ARSK, presenting an obstacle to the return of Serb refugees. , out of 300,000–350,000 Serbs who fled from Croatia during the entire war, 132,707 are registered as having returned, but only 60–65% of those are believed to reside permanently in the country. However, only 20,000–25,000 more are interested in returning to Croatia. , approximately 60,000 Serb refugees from Croatia remained in Serbia.