
At least seven people were killed and 20 were wounded in clashes between armed civilians in Mexico's violence-plagued southern state of Guerrero, officials said Wednesday.
The shootouts erupted late Tuesday in El Naranjo, a hamlet that is part of the municipality of Tlacotepec, which lies in a mountainous region where drug gangs grow opium poppies.
"At the moment we have seven people dead," a state government official, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
The Guerrero government's secretary general, David Cienfuegos, told Milenio television that local hospital staff say 10 people died and another 20 were wounded.
State police headed to the area to confirm the death toll and investigate what happened, Cienfuegos said.
"Apparently no federal or state force was involved," he said.
A brief report by the state prosecutor's office said "various clashes between hitmen" took place in El Naranjo.
The impoverished state of Guerrero has been the scene of some of Mexico's worst drug gang-related violence.
It was in the city of Iguala that crooked police detained 43 college students in September and delivered them to the Guerreros Unidos gang, which slaughtered the group, according to prosecutors.
More recently, residents of the town of Chilapa reported that at least 11 people were kidnapped by an armed group that occupied the town for five days last week.
While the group described itself as a vigilante force, authorities are investigating whether it was infiltrated by a gang. Chilapa is at the center of a turf war between two gangs.
A Chilapa mayoral candidate was murdered earlier this month ahead of June 7 elections.
GMT 19:37 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Video: Bodies of children killed in Fujairah fire laid to restGMT 17:17 2018 Monday ,22 January
2 dead, 5 injured in accident on Emirates Road in DubaiGMT 08:45 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Eleven killed Turkey ski holiday bus crashGMT 00:52 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Youth burns to death as car rams into lamppost in RAKGMT 00:45 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Youth burns to death as car rams into lamppost in RAKGMT 00:44 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Youth burns to death as car rams into lamppost in RAKGMT 18:47 2018 Saturday ,20 January
Israeli forces kill suspect in rabbi's murderGMT 23:00 2018 Thursday ,18 January
Several dead in operation to arrest Venezuela pilot

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor