The military action in Kosovo was a controversial issue within the party; the party leadership supported the military interventionism saying the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo had to be stopped. Supporters included Kristin Halvorsen, who favored NATO's air strikes, but a large group within the party vehemently opposed such support, arguing that violence would only lead to more violence. The party's chapter in Akershus called the attack a "NATO-led terrorist bombing" and believed the bombing marked the first time that Norway had declared war on another nation. They wanted the United Nations to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. Stein Ørnhøi, leader of the Socialist People's Party, said the party's representatives in parliament acted preposterously; he felt they made the wrong decision in supporting NATO's actions in Kosovo when the majority of the party was against it. During the national convention, Halvorsen threatened to resign as party leader unless the factional fighting within the party stopped. This led to a split within the party, with the first group supporting her resignation and the larger second faction concluding that the NATO bombing was to be immediately terminated if the Serbs stopped the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, if Halvorsen continued as party leader.