At least 12 people were killed in Michoacán in four different attacks on Sunday.

In the first incident, the bodies of five men were found in the Presa de los Reyes neighborhood of Morelia, where two women were wounded in the same incident, according to Michoacán prosecutors.

That was followed by the killing of four men by armed civilians in Lázaro Cárdenas.

Later in the day, two more men were killed in the municipalities of Tepalcatepec and Coeneo, while last night a group of state police officers were attacked in Sahuayo. One officer was killed and five others were wounded.

Michoacán is one of the states where homicides numbers have increased since 2018, when they were at a record high. The most violent municipalities in the state are Morelia, Uruapan, Zamora, Sahuayo, La Huacana and Los Reyes.

According to police, much of the violence in Michoacán is related to the conflict between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Los Viagras gang for territorial control.

One of the recent flashpoints for that conflict has been the municipality of Tepalcatepec, which borders the state of Jalisco. On Friday, nine people were killed when members of the CJNG began a campaign to try to take control of the municipality from the Los Viagras.

Michoacán Public Security Secretary Israel Patrón Reyes told the newspaper Milenio that the nine people who died were members of the CJNG who had traveled from Jalisco to carry out the attack.

Source: El Financiero (sp), Milenio (sp)