Shootings and extortion create ghost town in southern Mexico

A dog stands in an empty street due to armed gang violence, which has forced residents to evacuate with the help of Government authorities that set up camps for displaced individuals, in Tila, Chiapas state, Mexico June 10, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo

YAJALON, Mexico (Reuters) - Thousands of residents deserted the small Mexican town of Tila, fleeing an intensive three-day siege by heavily armed men and leaving it a ghost town, and are still too afraid to return despite government troops now patrolling the empty streets.

"All night we listened to bullets go by," said Maria, a resident of the southern Mexican town of Tila, some 140 miles (230 km) from the Chiapas state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez.