After falling, homicides up again in Mexico in 2015

More than 20,500 homicides were committed in Mexico in 2015, rising slightly from 2014 after murders had fallen for three consecutive years, official figures showed on Monday. A total of 20,525 homicides were reported last year, compared to 20,010 in 2014, according to the national statistics institute (INEGI). While the rate remained the same as in 2014, with 17 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, it marked an end to a downward trend. Murders surged in Mexico after the government deployed troops to crack down on drug cartels in December 2006. Homicides reached their peak in 2011 with 27,213 and a rate of 24 per 100,000 inhabitants. They dropped to 25,967 in 2012 and 23,063 in 2013. The statistics institute does not specify which homicides are linked to drug conflicts, but more than 12,000 were committed with firearms in 2015. The impoverished southern state of Guerrero had the highest homicide rate, with 67 per 100,000 inhabitants, soaring from 49 per 100,000 inhabitants the previous year. Guerrero has been hit by a wave of violence linked to turf wars between drug gangs fighting for control of opium poppy production. The state's Pacific resort of Acapulco is considered Mexico's murder capital, with state government figures showing that there were 111 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015.