Ladakh: The Chinese Army used iron rods studded with nails to attack Indian Army soldiers hence proving that the assault was premeditated. A photograph of the improvised weapon is going viral on social media where multiple nail-studded iron rods can be seen.
The image that emerged on Thursday showed crude weapons that appeared to be made from iron rods studded with nails. It was passed to the BBC by a senior Indian military official on the India-China border, who said the weapons had been used by the Chinese.
Defence analyst Ajai Shukla, who first tweeted the image, described the use of such weapons as “barbarism”. The absence of firearms in the clash dates back to a 1996 agreement between the two sides that guns and explosives be prohibited along the disputed stretch of the border, to deter escalation.
“The nail-studded rods — captured by Indian soldiers from the Galwan Valley encounter site — with which Chinese soldiers attacked an Indian Army patrol and killed 20 Indian soldiers.
Such barbarism must be condemned. This is thuggery, not soldiering,” he tweeted.
The nail-studded rods — captured by Indian soldiers from the Galwan Valley encounter site — with which Chinese soldiers attacked an Indian Army patrol and killed 20 Indian soldiers.
Such barbarism must be condemned. This is thuggery, not soldiering pic.twitter.com/nFcNpyPHCQ
— Ajai Shukla (@ajaishukla) June 18, 2020
“How dare China kill our UNARMED soldiers?
Why were our soldiers sent UNARMED to martyrdom?,” questioned Rahul Gandhi.
How dare China kill our UNARMED soldiers?
Why were our soldiers sent UNARMED to martyrdom?pic.twitter.com/umIY5oERoV
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 18, 2020
Hours after Rahul Gandhi’s tweets, external affairs minister, S Jaishankar replied to Gandhi’s tweet and wrote; “Let us get the facts straight. All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving post. Those at Galwan on 15 June did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 & 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs.”
Let us get the facts straight.
All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving post. Those at Galwan on 15 June did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 & 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs. https://t.co/VrAq0LmADp
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) June 18, 2020
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