India says 20 killed in fighting with China

The Indian and Chinese troops who fought over a disputed border high in the Himalayas pounded each other with fists and rocks in sub-zero temperatures. The Indian army on Tuesday raised the death toll from the battle to 20 and said 17 soldiers received critical injuries.

Will this skirmish lead to war? China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Wednesday that both sides have agreed to resolve the border tensions peacefully. The two nuclear nations cannot afford to escalate the conflict that far, but the path back to peace is unclear. “This crisis isn’t ending anytime soon,” said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia specialist at the Wilson Center.

Dig deeper: Last year, India revoked the autonomy of the Kashmir region where the conflict zone lies. Read Onize Ohikere’s report about the move in World Tour.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.