Victims call for end to Mexican war on drugs

Relatives of civilians killed in shoot-outs between soldiers and drug cartel members, as well as colleagues of journalists assassinated by drug bosses' hired killers, united at a mass demonstration in Ciudad Juarez to demand an end to a war that has claimed an incredible 17,000 lives in just three years.

The protest coincided with UN criticism of the United States for fuelling the violence by failing to reduce its citizens' drug use.

Journalist Alfredo Corchado reported that an astonishing 1,401 people had been killed since January as rival drug cartels battled for control of a trade that the UN's international narcotics control board estimates could be worth as much as $48 billion (£32 billion) each year.

"The cartels have expanded their control to cover the entire supply chain, shipping illicit drugs from Colombia and distributing them in the United States, which continues to be the main importer and consumer of illicit drugs worldwide," the board declared.

Mr Corchado emphasised that the violence, compounded by Mexican President Felipe Calderon's insistence on using the military to enforce a "state of siege" to combat the cartels, was resulting in a news blackout with local reporters afraid to reveal the extent of the war.

"In the past 14 days, at least eight Mexican journalists have been abducted in the US frontier area," he revealed.

"One died after a severe beating, two were released by their captors and the rest are missing, including a reporter for El Manana newspaper, a freelance photographer from La Tarde newspaper and a TV cameraman," he added.

Mexican author Carlos Monsivais joined with relatives of people killed in the crossfire between soldiers and cartels in Ciudad Juarez to demand an "end to the experiment of militarising the country."

Relating how 2,600 people had died last year as a result of the drug war in the city, he added that, "since the arrival of the army, the violence has got worse, there is a heavy and sad atmosphere here. We have had enough of a war we do not want."