US diplomat urges Delhi protesters to ‘refrain from violence’

• Indian PM Modi had appealed for peace in Delhi on Wednesday after days of Hindu-Muslim clashes.
• At least 34 people have died in the worst religious violence in decades.
• Indian police have been accused of looking the other way while Muslims and their properties were targeted.

(Karachi) Chief US diplomat for South Asian affairs, Alice Wells, has urged those behind violent protests in India to "refrain from violence".

In a tweet on Thursday, she said, "Our hearts go out to the families of the deceased and injured in New Delhi. We echo PM @NarendraModi’s call for calm and normalcy and urge all parties to maintain peace, refrain from violence, and respect the right of peaceful assembly."

https://twitter.com/State_SCA/status/1232989569638895616

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed for peace in Delhi on Wednesday after days of Hindu-Muslim clashes over a controversial new citizenship law which sparked some of the worst sectarian violence seen in the capital city in decades.

At least 34 people have died in the worst religious violence in decades as Indian police have been accused of looking the other way while Muslims and their properties were targeted.

A mosque was set on fire in the Indian capital on Tuesday by Hindu mobs, as several Muslim-populated areas in the city were attacked during three days of violence, which were triggered after attacks on sit-ins against a new citizenship law.