India claims: Soldiers killed in a number of front-line clashes with Chinese soldiers
Indian soldiers in Ladakh // Photo: IP
Deadly quarrel on the roof of the world: Twenty Indian soldiers have been killed in several incidents that broke out with Chinese soldiers on the border between the two states in Ladakh province in the Himalayas, the Times of India newspaper reported Tuesday morning.
20 Indian armed forces have been killed in face-to-face clashes with Chinese soldiers on the disputed Himalayan border between India and China, officials said in the evening, raising tensions between the countries.
The deaths are the first loss of life in the border region for at least 45 years, and they are in the midst of a conflict that has resurfaced between the states in recent weeks. Indian and Chinese soldiers, who often do not carry weapons in the area to avoid violent incidents, have faced a number of clashes in recent days, due to the increased deployment of sides in the area.
According to an Indian newspaper report, at least three of the soldiers were killed in a melee involving stones and sticks, between Indian and Chinese soldiers patrolling the hilly and difficult area. Such conflicts are not unusual, and they travel from an ongoing conflict on the border between the states. But lately, the number of these clashes has increased, such as the one that occurred on Friday in June, during which soldiers from both sides were injured.
An official statement from the Indian Army reads: "During the Galvan Valley escalation reduction process, a violent confrontation took place during the night with casualties on both sides. Loss of life on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers.
Alongside the message of reconciliation, the Indian army will significantly increase its order of forces in the Ladakh and Chinese border areas. Convoys of documented military trucks have been making their way to the area in recent days.
The border between India and China in the Dahq region has remained a source of conflict between the states since 1962, when India lost to China in a short border war that took the lives of more than two thousand people. The Chinese have succeeded in taking over parts of the Dak Duck which they claim to belong to China while the Indians see them as part of India. As a result, the borders between countries remain disputed, which sometimes erupts violently.