 On 1 September 1991, Tuđman accepted an EC-proposed ceasefire and peace conference, despite his ultimatum demanding that the JNA return to its barracks by 31 August. After the Yugoslav Presidency also accepted it, the conference began on 7 September. Four days later, the Croatian member and chair of the federal presidency, Stjepan Mesić, ordered the JNA to return to its barracks within 48 hours. The move was motivated by Tuđman's impression that the conference would have continued endlessly while the ZNG lost ground. The order was disputed by other members of the presidency, but it gave Croatia justification to openly confront the JNA. On 14 September, the ZNG and the Croatian police blockaded and cut utilities to all JNA facilities it had access to, beginning the Battle of the Barracks. The ZNG blockaded 33 large JNA garrisons in Croatia, and numerous smaller facilities including border posts and weapons and ammunition storage depots. The ZNG quickly captured isolated facilities and depots, as well as several major JNA posts, and seized large quantities of weapons — including the capture of entire stocks of the JNA 32nd (Varaždin) Corps and nearly all the weapons confiscated from Croatia's TO. The JNA lost control of eight brigades — including one armoured and two mechanized brigades, and three artillery regiments — while additional forces in the JNA Fifth Military District and its Military-Maritime District remained besieged. The significance of the Battle of the Barracks was reinforced by the introduction of a United Nations (UN) arms embargo on 25 September. In September, Anton Tus was appointed the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia.
