MEXICO CITY — Investigators in the northern Mexico state of Durango said they found the remains of 10 men and one woman in mass graves in the state capital Wednesday, bringing the total of bodies recovered there to 121.
The Durango state prosecutors’ office said in a statement that the remains were uncovered by military personnel who have been excavating at about four sites in the city, which also is known as Durango. The search has been underway for about a month at pits where drug gangs are believed to have buried victims.
The Durango graves are the second such discovery in a month. A total of 183 bodies have been unearthed in 40 pits in the northeastern border state of Tamaulipas.
Mass graves have become an increasingly common discovery in Mexico, with drug cartels using the sites to dispose of enemies and other victims amid increased fighting among rival gangs. More than 34,600 people have died in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon deployed thousands of federal security forces four years ago to fight traffickers.
Authorities in Durango state say the discovery of mass graves there has not brought out many relatives of missing people, perhaps because families are too frightened to come forward.
As Mexicans braced for demonstrations scheduled for the weekend to protest ongoing violence associated with the anti-drug offensive, Calderon issued an impassioned appeal in a televised speech Wednesday for Mexicans to stick with the fight.
