Twenty Indian Army personnel, including the commanding officer of an infantry battalion, were killed Monday evening in a clash with Chinese forces in Galwan Valley, Ladakh.
There have been several reports claiming heavy Chinese casualties as well but the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not confirmed any death.
An official statement from the Army Tuesday evening said that the Indian and Chinese troops ‘have disengaged’ following the skirmish.
No bullets were fired by either side in the clash. It has emerged that Chinese forces used nail-studded iron rods to brutally attack Indian soldiers leaving 20 dead and many injured.
“The nail-studded rods — captured by Indian soldiers from the Galwan Valley encounter site — with which Chinese soldiers attacked an Indian Army patrol and killed 20 Indian soldiers. Such barbarism must be condemned. This is thuggery, not soldiering,” wrote defence reporter Ajay Shukla on Twitter, sharing a picture of the alleged rods used in the clash.
The nail-studded rods — captured by Indian soldiers from the Galwan Valley encounter site — with which Chinese soldiers attacked an Indian Army patrol and killed 20 Indian soldiers.
Such barbarism must be condemned. This is thuggery, not soldiering pic.twitter.com/nFcNpyPHCQ
— Ajai Shukla (@ajaishukla) June 18, 2020
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Wednesday spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The two leaders agreed to ‘cool down’ tensions on the ground ‘as soon as possible’. They also discussed ways to maintain peace and tranquility in the border area in accordance with the agreement reached between the two countries, an official statement said.
PNN
