France and Russia protested near Italy on December 28, 1914, after its troops had occupied Vlora and the Italian fleet took control of the port. Italy was justified in saying that the army had entered Vlora at the request of Esad Pasha Toptan, while Albania was being engulfed by anarchy. After the outbreak of World War I, in October 1914, Italy launched a plan to invade Albania, beginning with the sending of a "sanitary mission" to Vlora, ostensibly to help the Muhajireen (refugees who went there after the Greek occupation of the south). In fact, this commission consisted of Italian officers and agents, as a vanguard to get acquainted with the situation in the area and to prepare the ground for the invasion. This is what former diplomat Hasan Luci claims during an interview.