WEB DESK
AT LEAST ten persons were killed in a gunbattle between rival civilian self-defence groups in Guerrero, located at south pacific coast in Mexico. A local security official said members of two self-acclaimed community police groups faced off in a gun battle on Sunday. After the clash, state police found two vehicles with bodies of ten people inside.
Guerrero is one of the country’s most violent regions, where rump groups of criminals belonging to once powerful drug cartels fight to control lucrative drug smuggling routes. In response, armed civilian vigilante groups have emerged in an attempt to maintain peace.
According to official figures, drug-related violence has resulted in about 200,000 deaths in the central American country since 2006.