Criminal gangs clash in central Mexico, 16 people die -authorities

A woman walks at a crime scene where unknown assailants left the bodies of men wrapped in blankets in Fresnillo, Zacatecas state, Mexico February 5, 2022. REUTERS/Edgar Chavez

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Sixteen people died in Mexico's central state of Zacatecas following an apparent violent dispute between criminal gangs, authorities said on Saturday, as the state grapples with a spike in violence.

State prosecutor Francisco Murillo said 10 bodies were found wrapped in blankets in the streets of the Fresnillo municipality while another six were "suspended" inside a warehouse in the nearby community Panfilo Natera.

Two people who were transporting another corpse a day earlier have been arrested, he added, saying the person could be linked to the other deaths.

Last month, authorities found the bodies of 10 people abandoned inside a vehicle in the historic center of the state capital, also named Zacatecas, a few steps from the government offices.

Homicides rose last year, official figures showed: the state of Zacatecas registered 1,050 in 2021, about 200 more than the previous year.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Leslie Adler)