20 Indian Soldiers Martyred In Galwan Valley; 43 Casualties On The Chinese Side, Claim ANI Sources

Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, MEA said earlier today.

(File Photo/ PTI)

Leh: As many as twenty soldiers of the Indian Army were martyred during a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh's Galwan Valley on Monday night, sources close to news agency ANI said. The violent face-off marks the deadliest clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours in the last five decades.  The agency sources also stated that Indian intercepts reveal that even Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in face-off in the Galwan valley. Sources close to the news agency have also informed that there has been an increase in Chinese chopper activity across the Line Of Control (LAC) to airlift casualties suffered by them during face-off with Indian troops in Galwan Valley. "Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at Galwan area where they had earlier clashed on the night of 15/16 June. 17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at stand-off location," ANI quoted Indian Army as saying. Images of Indian Army soldiers martyred in India-China border standoff in Galwan Valley on Monday night: 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 Army told news agency. As reports claim that no firing was reported during the standoff which took place in Galwan Valley between Indian and Chinese troops on Monday night, it is being specualted that soldiers must have fallen from a cliff. Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh Police has issued an alert in Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts, which border China, in view of the violent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley. ALSO WATCH | Galwan Valley: Violent Clash Between India & China Over LAC Earlier in the day, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) responded to the aggression between Indian and Chinese armies along the LAC saying that both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had agreement at higher level been scrupulously followed by China. MEA stated that the Chinese side tried to unilaterally change the status quo in the Galwan Valley while India was upholding its side of the commitment. "On late-evening & night of June 15, a violent face-off happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo there. Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had an agreement at a higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side," MEA said in an official statement. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the prevailing situation in Eastern Ladakh where Indian Army faced multiple casualties during a violent face-off with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China.