Violence between Hindus and Muslims causes about twenty deaths in Delhi

At least 20 people have died and another 189 have been injured since the outbreak last Sunday of inter-community violence in New Delhi, a head of the main hospital in the area affected by the fighting said in the northeast of the Indian capital on Wednesday.

Groups of men armed with stones, knives and even firearms sow chaos in the outlying areas since Sunday to the Muslim majority in the northeast of the Indian capital, a dozen kilometers from the city center. "There are 189 people hospitalized, one sixty with gunshot wounds," explains Sunil Kumar, head of the GTB hospital.

The clashes are carried out by supporters and opponents of a controversial citizenship law, which their detractors considered discriminatory against Muslims. In that scenario, clashes have degenerated into community clashes between Hindus and Muslims.

In numerous incidents reported by the Indian press, armed Hindu groups attacked places and people identified as Muslims. The videos show groups of protesters shouting "Jai Shri Ram" [Long live God Ram].

On Tuesday night, after a day of great tension, local police reported episodes of violence. "We have received many panic calls, but we have not received any information about the violence, except in a particular neighborhood," says Alok Kumar, a New Delhi police officer.

Many migrant workers left their homes to return to the security of their home towns. "There is no work ... It is better to leave than to stay here. Why would we want to die here?" Laments a tailor on his way to his village in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh.

The outbreak of violence coincided with the state visit to India by US President Donald Trump, which ended Tuesday with another round of talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

The Hindu nationalist leader has faced a vast protest movement since December against the new legislation that facilitates the granting of Indian citizenship to refugees, provided they are not Muslims.