20 killed and 200 injured in Hindu-Muslim ethnic clashes in India

Rioting has continued in Delhi for the third consecutive night, with reports of Muslim homes and shops being targeted by violent mobs.

Iran Press/Asia: Twenty people have been killed so far in the deadliest violence the Indian capital has seen in decades.

The clashes first broke out on Sunday between protesters for and against a controversial citizenship law. But they have since taken on communal overtones, with reports of people being attacked based on their religion.

Both Hindus and Muslims are among the dead. Some 189 people are injured, according to officials at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, where many of them have been admitted.

At least two mosques have been vandalized in the clashes.

Hospitals are"overwhelmed", and many of the injured were "too scared to go back home".

In a rare midnight hearing, the Delhi high court ordered the government and police to ensure that the injured were safely taken to the nearest hospitals that are equipped to treat them.

Eyewitnesses have said several members of the mob were carrying guns and there are reports of shots being fired from rooftops. Hospital officials also confirmed that many of the injured have gunshot wounds.

The violence is centered on Muslim-majority neighborhoods in north-east Delhi - such as Maujpur, Mustafabad, Jaffrabad and Shiv Vihar - just 18km (11 miles) from the heart of the capital.

At least two mosques have been vandalized in the clashes.

Main streets in these neighborhoods are in a shambles, with the stench of burnt vehicles and plumes of rising smoke. He says he saw a partially burnt mosque, with pages from the Koran lying strewn on the ground.

Police have been accused of being under-prepared and outnumbered

Another mosque was vandalized on Tuesday afternoon. Widely shared footage showed men trying to rip the crescent from the top of the minaret.

These areas are close to the Loni border - that Delhi shares with Uttar Pradesh state - which has now been sealed. Schools in the area have been closed, and year-end exams postponed.

Many, including journalists, have tweeted and spoken of mobs demanding to know their religion.

But the police have been accused of being under-prepared and outnumbered. At least one of those who has been killed is a policeman, a constable named Ratan Lal.

The timing of the unrest is being seen as an embarrassment for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was hosting US President Donald Trump over the last two days on his first official visit to India.

The first deaths were reported on Monday, hours before Trump's arrival in Delhi.

As the violence escalated, it overshadowed Trump's visit, making it to national and global headlines.

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20 killed and 200 injured in Hindu-Muslim ethnic clashes in India
Police have been accused of being under-prepared and outnumbered
At least two mosques have been vandalized in the clashes.