India’s Modi Appeals for Calm as Riot Toll Rises to 20

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm on Wednesday, Feb. 26, after days of clashes between Hindus and minority Muslims.

Members of Rapid Action Force move past smoldering debris after it was set on fire by demonstrators in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 25, 2020. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

NEW DELHI—Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm on Wednesday, after days of clashes between Hindus and minority Muslims over a controversial citizenship law in some of the worst sectarian violence in the capital in decades.

Twenty people were killed and nearly 200 wounded in the violence, a doctor said, with many suffering gunshot wounds amid looting and arson attacks that coincided with a visit to India by President Donald Trump.