On 5 December 1934, after a few weeks of tension between the garrison and Ethiopian armed men, a violent firefight began for the possession of the locality, which was located in a strip of disputed territory.

[citation needed] In 1931 Gabré Mariam led a formation of fifteen thousand men into the desert on a rapid expedition against the Dubats stationed along the border.

[8] In 1934, the Ual-Ual fort consisted of a circular trench with a diameter of about seventy meters protected by plant trunks, inside which there were simple huts inhabited by the Dubats, as well as two more important buildings erected to host passing allies.

[7] He had been threatened during the month of July by Omar Samantar, a rebel who had already killed an Italian officer,[9] who had received orders from Gabré Mariam to occupy the wells, and who returned on November 22 with around 1,200 soldiers and volunteers,[10] commanded by three Ethiopian fitaurari (military leaders), including Sciferra, governor of the Ogaden, who in turn was accompanied by an English border commission, protected in turn by 80 men of the Somaliland Camel Corps.

[2] Despite the intimations of the Ethiopians, strong of about 600 men, the Somali soldiers in command of the garrison refused to desert or retreat, notifying the Uarder fort which, equipped with a radio, informed Mogadishu.

[2][12] Due to the provocative action of the Italian planes, the English delegation interrupted the talks, retreating and sending notes of protest, while the Ethiopians, who had received 600 additional men and machine guns, began a confrontation, which lasted for ten days.