Faceoff in Galwan : 20 Indian Soldiers Martyred

The Faceoff between India and China has become violent. Twenty Indian army personnel, including a commanding officer of 16 Bihar, were killed by Chinese troops in Galwan Valley. The casualties were on both sides but didn't disclosed their loses.

The Army’s initial statement Tuesday afternoon said an officer and two soldiers were killed, but late at night a second statement confirmed the loss of 20 lives on the Indian side.

Officers said that, as part of de-escalation, the two sides had agreed to create a ‘buffer zone’ i.e a no man’s land between the LAC and the junction of Galwan and Shyok rivers. The Indian side was supposed to stay to the west of the river junction and the Chinese to the east of the LAC to prevent faceoffs.

An argument, officers said, started over the position of Chinese soldiers who had started erecting a new post on the southern bank of Galwan river in this ‘buffer zone’. When the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar and his troops insisted that the Chinese remove the post, the situation quickly escalated, leading to physical violence. The Chinese side, officers said, used sticks, clubs, bats, bamboos with nails during the fight and the Indian side too retaliated.  

In the fight, some soldiers either fell or were pushed into the river, officers said. Some bodies were recovered from the river while others had signs of being brutalised. A few soldiers died of hypothermia. Some Indian soldiers were initially held captive by the Chinese but were released after the Major General level meeting. Some of them had serious injuries, officers said.