Over five years, more than 300 children were reportedly killed in Mexico’s Baja California. These children, many of whom lost their lives in crossfires as assailants attacked nearby targets, are a glaring reminder of escalating brutality in the region.
The Baja California State Human Rights Commission recently revealed the unsettling information. Miguel Angel Mora Marrufo, the organization’s chief, relayed his distress about the situation in an interview with AFN Tijuana.
Describing the increase in child murders as alarming, Mora Marrufo has felt compelled to reach out to the United Nations, especially after witnessing a lackluster response from the Mexican government to these tragedies.
Mora Marrufo emphasized that the children killed in the crossfire of violent incidents are innocent and should not be viewed by the government as merely collateral damage.
The grim statistics released by the Baja California State Human Rights Commission followed two recent incidents that highlight the severity of the issue.
One incident involved a four-year-old child being shot dead in Tecate. As the family drove down a city street, assailants in a van ambushed them, killing the four-year-old child and injuring the child’s mother and 12-year-old brother.
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Another incident resulted in two boys, ages 11 and 13, being gunned down in their mobile home in Ensenada.
The recent fatalities occurred against a backdrop of ongoing cartel wars. Baja California has become a battleground, with dominant forces such as the Tijuana Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco New Generation vying for supremacy over profitable drug routes and other illicit enterprises, according to Breitbart.
The pressing need for a solution is evident. Whether from the Mexican government or international bodies, decisive action is critical to curb the tragic trend.
This news article was partially created with the assistance of artificial intelligence and edited and fact-checked by a human editor.
