Britain Dismisses 111 Gurkhas After Brawl Injuring 2 Officers

LONDON — The British army has dismissed 111 Hong Kong-based Gurkhas, the tough fighters from the rugged mountains of Nepal, after a brawl that injured two officers, the Ministry of Defense said Monday.

The dismissal of the Gurkhas, members of a battalion of 137, marked the first time that the Nepalese troops have been fired since Britain began recruiting them for army service in 1816.

The brawl, in which the two officers, a British major commanding a company and a junior Gurkha officer, suffered cracked ribs, took place May 25 at the end of a British-American military exercise in Hawaii, the ministry said.

“We are quite shocked by their actions,” a ministry spokesman said. “Gurkhas have been regarded as one of the most trustworthy units.

“The vast majority of officers refused to answer questions during the police investigation, thereby breaching the trust between officers and men in the unit.”

Gurkhas Warned

The spokesman said the Gurkhas had been warned during the inquiry that they would be dismissed if they did not cooperate.

The dismissed Gurkhas included many who fought in the 1982 Falkland Islands War between Britain and Argentina.

The Gurkhas are named after the tiny principality of Gorkha in Nepal, a slice of the Himalayan mountains between India and Tibet.

The British East India Company declared war on the Gurkhas in 1814, and a fierce two-year battle ended in stalemate. The British were so impressed by the superb fighters in jungle guerrilla warfare that they asked the Gurkhas to join the British army in 1816 and have recruited them regularly since.

About 4,500 Gurkhas serve in Hong Kong, mainly patrolling the border with China.