According to the decisions of the Berlin Congress, the territories of Plav and Gusinje (then part of the Scutari Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire) were awarded to Montenegro.

When Montenegro prepared forces for such an expedition, the Ottomans intervened with the Great Powers to stop it, under the excuse of avoiding eventual conflicts.

[5] Historian Milovan Đilas emphasized that the northern Albanian tribes had territorial aspirations for the fertile plain along the river Lim in Plav and Gusinje.

After the Berlin Congress, their aim was to descend into the valley before the official institutions of Montenegro grasped firm control over it.

After the skirmish, the Montenegrin forces withdrew to Sutjeska, near Andrijevica and Albanian irregulars burned down the Vasojevići settlements of Velika, Ržanica and Pepići.