INDIA said its soldiers were maimed after being beaten to death by Chinese forces in a clash that raised fears of a war between the two nations.
Images also appeared showing the point weapons used in the brutal melee fight in the Himalayas.
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Brutal fighting in the Galwan Valley is believed to have fueled fury in New Delhi as anger simmers between nuclear-weapon countries, India Today reports.
The publication described some of the Indian troops as “mutilated” – but no further details were given.
Shocking details emerged during the alleged struggle when 55 Indian soldiers encountered 300 Chinese soldiers on a mountain ridge.
At least 20 Indian soldiers – including officer Bikumalla Santosh Babu – died in hand-to-hand fighting with improvised weapons.
Bats bristling with nails and wrapped in barbed wire were said to have been used – an Indian official described the Chinese forces as a “death squad”.
Talks between the two sides are said to be “barely in control” and the situation on the ground is “extremely volatile”.
It is not known how many Chinese troops died in the fighting, with reports of 43 victims
No shots were fired, the two sides abiding by a treaty that prohibits firearms within one mile of the actual line of control – the de facto border between nations.
Talks continue to try to defuse the situation, which is the last violent chapter in a decade of borders.
The violent deaths are the first victims of the quarrel since 1975, and the world is now looking at the two sides with breath to find peace.
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Funerals have started today for some of the Indian soldiers who died in the fighting as national fury increases.
Protests also continued across India against China – activists burned portraits of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
There are increasing calls for a boycott of Chinese goods as India warns it will offer a “suitable response” to the bloody dead.
The two sides have accused the other of the latest clash and talks are underway to end a new confrontation between the powers.
Eri Kaneko, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, pleaded with the two sides “to exercise the utmost restraint”.
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Meanwhile, Chinese state television broadcast images of artillery and tanks participating in a high-altitude exercise about 600 miles from the skirmish in the Galwan River Valley.
The video shows the great force blowing across sections of the landscape – with the Himalayas coldly providing the backdrop in the distance.
About 7,000 soldiers also participated, repeating fortified positions as the People’s Liberation Army contracted.
It is not known when the exercise was filmed, but it is used as a shot through the arches of India.
Chinese state media yesterday taunted “the gap between [our] the force is clear, “and warned that China would not back down from a fight.
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India and China have been fighting for the border since the last war of the two powers in 1962.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country was ready to fight back if it was provoked by China.
In a televised speech, the Prime Minister said, “I would like to assure the nation that the sacrifice of our jawans will not be in vain.
“For us, the unity and sovereignty of the country is most important. India wants peace but is able to give a suitable response if it is triggered. ”
Indian is reported to have put its warships and fighter planes on alert as it prepares for the conflict – with photos showing yesterday’s convoys of troops heading for the border.
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Thousands of Indian and Chinese soldiers, backed by armored trucks and artillery, have clashed within a few hundred meters of each other for more than a month in the region near Tibet.
Indian officials said Chinese soldiers crossed the border into Ladakh in early May at three different locations, erecting tents and guard posts and ignoring verbal warnings to leave.
This sparked screams, stone throwing, and fist fights, much of which was replayed on television and social media.
Since then, India has accused China of invading 20 square miles of its territory.
China has also accused Indian troops of crossing its border and attacking its soldiers in the tit-for-tat border row.
The border dispute covers almost 2,175 miles of the border, and India accuses China of occupying nearly 15,000 square miles of its territory.
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Tensions have increased in the region since April, when China deployed thousands of soldiers as well as artillery and vehicles.
Analysts say the troops were deployed to prevent India from increasing its own military presence in the region.
Both countries have enormous military power as well as a vast nuclear arsenal.
And the two countries also have governments with a nationalist tendency and neither will want to be considered as the one who backs down with, at the very least, national pride at stake.
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This is likely to be a defining moment in India-China relations and the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific, said Abraham Denmark, Asia program director at the Wilson Center.
India and China are ruled by men who have adopted nationalism, and both countries are facing huge national and international upheavals in the aftermath of Covid-19 and other long-standing problems.
It is a very volatile and dangerous situation in between at a time when American influence has diminished sharply, said Denmark.
The main questions now are whether one of the parties can find a path to de-escalation and whether India’s allies such as the United States will help.
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China releases demonstration of military firepower after India takes revenge on 20 soldiers
