At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese forces in a disputed Himalayan border area on Monday, according to reports citing Indian officials. The clash in the Ladakh region was the first deadly confrontation between India and China since 1975. "The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer," the Indian Army said in an official statement on Tuesday. The deadly clashes follow weeks of tensions and the mobilization by both sides of thousands of extra troops at the border. "During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place (on Monday night) with casualties on both sides," the statement added. The Indian Army initially said in a statement that three Indian soldiers had died, but later updated the number to 20 and said 17 "were critically injured in the line of duty at the standoff location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain." The statement did not disclose the nature of the soldiers' injuries. India's external affairs ministry accused China of breaking an agreement struck the previous week to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley. "A violent face-off happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo there," the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, China accused Indian forces of carrying out "provocative attacks" on its troops without offering more details and did not disclose if any of its soldiers died. "On June 15, Indian troops seriously violated the consensus of the two sides, crossed the border illegally twice and carried out provocative attacks on Chinese personnel resulting in serious physical conflicts between the two border forces," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. After the clash, the two sides "disengaged" from the area where the fighting happened, the Indian Army statement said. — Agencies
