UNITED NATIONS, June 17: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the violent face-off between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladhakh and urged both the countries to exercise maximum restraint, his Associate Spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“We are concerned about reports of violence and deaths along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China and urge both the sides to exercise maximum restrain, Eri Kaneko, Associate Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said during the media briefing.
We take positive note of reports that the two sides have engaged to de-escalate the situation, she added.
In a massive scale up of conflict in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, about 20 Indian Army soldiers were killed during the violent clash with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China on Monday.
According to sources, the Chinese side has suffered around 50 casualties.
”The Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area, where they had earlier clashed on the night of 15/16 June 2020. Seventeen Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the stand off location 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,” the Indian Army said.
The Army further said that it is firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation.
No firing had taken place during the face-off.
The number of casualties suffered by the Indian Army revealed the extent and scale of the conflict, which has escalated over the past two days.
(UNI)