India-China Border Dispute: No Gunshots Fired; Stones, Batons, Hand-To-Hand Clashes In Ladakh

17 June, 2020

Stones, batons and metal clubs were also used in the attack as Indian troops clashed with their Chinese counterparts to push them back to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The face-off between Indian and Chinese troops led to three casualties on the Indian side, with the killing of an Indian Army officer and 19 soldiers

The violent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley of Ladakh took place without any gunshot exchange.

Soldiers from both sides engaged in hand-to-hand clashes with each other without gunfire, according to sources.

Stones, batons and metal clubs were also used in the attack as Indian troops clashed with their Chinese counterparts to push them back to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the sources added.

The face-off led to three casualties on the Indian side, with the killing of an Indian Army officer and two soldiers, while at least 11 other soldiers were injured in violent physical skirmishes.

“During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place on Monday night with casualties. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers,” the Army said in a brief statement on Tuesday.

Tensions have been brewing between the two sides over the past few weeks. The trigger for the face-off was China’s stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another route connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley

This is the first incident in over four decades leading to fatalities on the India-China border. In 1975, four Indian troops of Assam Rifles Jawans were killed in a Chinese ambush in Arunachal Pradesh.

Senior military officials from both sides are holding meetings in Galwan Valley of Eastern Ladakh to defuse tensions between the two countries.

Courtesy: Opera News/ businesstoday.in