A Tibetan soldier in the Indian Army’s Special Frontier Force (SFF) has reportedly been killed; Chinese troops allegedly shot him in the neck during a patrol duty on Saturday night, as per a report on the website Tibet Sun. However, the Indian Army has not confirmed the report.
The 51-year-old Company Leader Nyima Tenzin of the Special Frontier Force was from the Tibetan settlement in Choglamsar, near Ladakh’s capital Leh. Another Tibetan personnel, Tenzin Loden, 24, was injured during the incident, the army has revealed.
Tibetans give their lives for the Tricolour.
— Man Aman Singh Chhina (@manaman_chhina) September 2, 2020
Nepalese give their lives for the Tricolour.
We Indians should have more respect for them. pic.twitter.com/36Tt8xTXRE
Both the soldiers are from 7 VIKAS, one of the seven SFF battalions which have been moved to Ladakh and deployed against the Chinese. The SFF is an elite paratroop unit manned by volunteers from the 120,000-strong Tibetan refugee community in India.
The report has suggested that during the physical altercation between the Indian and Chinese troops in Chushul Valley, Tibetan soldiers stationed at the nearby Thakung post intervened to prevent the PLA soldiers from building.
The Central Tibetan Administration in India’s Dharamshala has repeatedly condemned Chinese actions and recent policy announced by Xi Jinping. They had even offered to recruit more Tibetans to fight against the Chinese.
India and China have been in a border stand-off since the last week of April. The troops from both sides have indulged in scuffles and physical altercations since then; the 15 June clash turned violent, killing 20 Indian soldiers.
