Italo-Abyssinian Border Clash 1934

In a prelude to the coming Ethiopian-Italian War, troops of both nations fought in an engagement on the Ethiopian-Italian Somaliland border (December 5). In December 1934, an incident took place at Welwel in the Ogaden, a site of wells used by Somali nomads regularly traversing the borders between Ethiopia and British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. The Italians had built fortified positions in Welwel in 1930 and, because there had been no protests, assumed that the international community had recognized their rights over this area. However, an Anglo-Ethiopian boundary commission challenged the Italian position when it visited Welwel in late November 1934 on its way to set territorial boundary markers. On encountering Italian belligerence, the commission's members withdrew but left behind their Ethiopian military escort, which eventually fought a battle with Italian units.

References

Ethiopia - A Country Study; Timelines of War, 420.

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