Report: 1,300 children killed in Mexico's drug war

Report: 1,300 children killed in Mexico's drug war

2011-07-14 05:11:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

MEXICO CITY (BNO NEWS) -- Nearly 1,300 children and teenagers have died in Mexico since the beginning of the drug war in December 2006, the Network for the Rights of Children (Redim) said on Wednesday.

CNN reported that the children have died as a result of the fight against organized crime that began when Felipe Calderón became president in December 2006. The 1,300 deaths represent a 3.7 percent of the total of people who have been killed between December 2006 and January 2009. During that time, there were 34,612 deaths, according to the Attorney General's Office.

The Redim warned that about 27,000 adolescents are both victims of exploitation by drug traffickers and the authorities' object of aggression.

The organization shared these numbers with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay during her recent visit to the country. Redim asked Pillay to urge the Mexican government to ensure the safety of children and punish those responsible for the deaths.

In April 2010, Bryan and Martín Almanza Salazar, ages 5 and 9, were killed on a road in the northern state of Tamaulipas, where the car they were traveling in was caught in a crossfire between troops and gunmen. The military argues that the children were killed in the crossfire, while the National Human Rights Commission concluded that the soldiers killed the children.

More than 40,000 people have died in drug-related violence since December 2006.

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