Three Indian soldiers were killed during a clash on the border with China, the Indian army stated on Tuesday. The deaths came on the heels of weeks of increased tensions between the two nations.

The soldiers seemingly died from being beaten to death with batons as India also said that neither side fired any shots during the clash. The indecent makes it the first deadly confrontation between the two countries in decades.

“During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties,” said an official statement. “The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers.”

“Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation.”

Indian government sources said that a physical fight involving batons and stone throwing broke out between the two sides.

Bei Jing’s government-controlled Global Times newspaper claimed that the Chinese army had also suffered casualties.

Thousands of support troops from both nations have been deployed to the border zone in recent weeks.