India-China standoff | one Army officer, two jawans killed in Ladakh scuffle; casualties on Chinese side also

Senior military officials from the two countries are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation

In a major escalation in the ongoing standoff between India and China on the border, one Officer and two jawans of the Indian Army lost their lives during a violent faceoff between troops in the Galwan area in Eastern Ladakh on Monday night.

“During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties on both sides. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers,” the Army said in a statement. Senior military officials from the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation, it stated.

However, Army sources said there was no firing during the face-off. There has been no firing on the border since 1975.

Also read: What explains the India-China border flare-up?

The two sides have been undertaking limited disengagement in a phased manner in the Galwan area before the Corps Commander level talks on June 6 which was expanded to more areas in Patrolling Points 14, 15, 17A and Gogra areas after the talks.

Last Saturday, in the first acknowledgment of the ongoing standoffs, Army Chief Gen Manoj Naravane had stated that troops of India and China are “disengaging” in a phased manner from the standoff areas along the border following the series of ground talks and a lot of disengagement has happened in the Galwan river area.

The standoff began with a scuffle in the Pangong Tso area after Chinese troops came in large numbers and resulted large number of injuries on both sides. There was a second scuffle on May 9 at Naku La in North Sikkim.

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