Indian and Chinese soldiers brawl on Himalayan border with casualties on both sides, six months after hand-to-hand combat left more than 20 dead
- Indian and Chinese troops fought last week in Naku La, in the remote Himalayas
- Indian sources said fight happened when Chinese patrol came to their territory
- Casualties occurred on both sides during the latest fighting, sources added
- Comes six months after battle between the two sides left at least 20 troops dead
Indian and Chinese troops brawled on their contested Himalayan border leaving injuries on both sides, military sources and media reports said Monday.
The latest fight took place Wednesday last week at Naku La, in Sikkim state, after China tried to send a patrol on to Indian territory, Indian military sources said.
The clash left at least 20 Chinese troops and four Indian troops injured, according to the same sources, though the figures could not be independently verified.
Chinese and Indian troops fought last week at Naku La, on the border between Sikkim state and the Tibet region, leaving casualties on both sides, according to Indian military sources
Indian troops said the latest border dispute was de-escalated by officers in the field according to established protocols.
Sources described the situation in the area as ‘tense’ but ‘stable’ on Monday.
Chinese state media described reports on the clash from India as ‘fake news’.
It comes six months after clashes in the Galwan Valley, 700 miles to the west, left 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese dead in some of the fiercest fighting between the two sides in years.
Hand-to-hand fighting on the Sikkim border in May last year set off the latest frontier tensions between the world’s two most-populous nations.
Naku La connects Sikkim to the Tibet region in China.
China and India, who fought a border war in 1962, blamed each other for the dispute and each has poured tens of thousands of extra troops into border zones.
The latest de-escalation talks between military commanders were held Sunday.
In June, the Indian army accused the Chinese of using clubs fashioned with barbed wire and nails to beat their troops. The Galwan Valley clash left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead
Prior to June’s deadly skirmish, footage was leaked which purported to show an Indian forces battering a PLA soldier in May