Gurkhas are no stranger to Belize

The soldiers now confined at Price Barracks are members of an elite-fighting unit called the Gurkhas. Citizens of Nepal, near India, the Gurkhas first began fighting for the British in 1815 following their defeat by Great Britain in a border dispute. They helped the British fight various rebellions in India and by World War One the Gurkha Rifles had been fully incorporated into the army and fought all over Europe. By the Second World War one hundred and twelve thousand Gurkhas were enlisted and fighting with valour on all fronts. And while the Gurkha’s numbers have now been reduced to only thirty-four hundred, their reputation for bravery remains, having served most recently in Sierra Leone and Kosovo. The Gurkhas are no strangers to Belize and were singled out for special review by the Queen, pictured here during the royal visit in 1994. When the British garrison in Belize was reduced to a training unit Gurkhas continued to rotate through on a regular basis and their prowess as jungle fighters is said to be second to none. Only one in fifty applicants is chosen by British recruiters, ensuring that the Gurkhas are the best of the best. Sources in the British military tell News 5 that the Gurkhas are the British soldiers least likely to get involved in a brawl, as their discipline is legendary. But it appears that when that discipline snapped on Thursday night, it did so with a lethal vengeance.