At least 20 Indian soldiers have died after a violent hand-to-hand fight with Chinese troops along the China-India border in the Himalayas Monday, the Indian army says. The incident occurred during a “de-escalation process” underway in the Galwan Valley in the disputed Aksai Chin-Ladakh area, where a large troop build-up has reportedly been taking place for weeks now on both sides of the border. Military commanders began talks earlier this month to try to defuse the confrontation. The Indian army had earlier said three soldiers had died, but added on Tuesday that a further 17 troops “who were critically injured in the line of duty at the standoff location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries,” CNN reported. The deaths are the first military casualties along the two countries’ disputed border for more than 40 years. Earlier the fatal confrontation was described as a vicious fight with rocks and sticks.
