The violent face-off between India and China on Monday night along the disputed Line of Actual Control in Galwan Valley has turned to be one of the bloodiest in recent times.
Twenty Indian soldiers have been martyred in the violent skirmish which has also led to the death of at least 43 soldiers of PLA, ANI reports.
Indian Army issued a statement confirming the casualties-
Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area where they had earlier clashed on the night of 15/16 June 2020. 17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total that were killed in action to 20. Indian Army is firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation, the statement said.
Earlier in the day, Ministry of External Affairs sourced confirmed that both, Indian as well as Chinese troops suffered casualties though China, while accusing India of triggering the skirmish, chose to remain mum on casualty figures.
”On late-evening and night of June 15, a violent face-off happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change status quo there. Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had an agreement at higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side,” Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement earlier today.
43 dead on the Chinese side
ANI further reported that the Indian intercepts reveal that Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in a face-off in the Galwan valley. While China has not officially confirmed the casualty count on the side of the PLA, reports of casualties were confirmed due to increased Chinese chopper activity across the LAC to airlift casualties suffered by them during the face-off with Indian troops in Galwan valley.