'1,300 minors killed in Mexico violence'

More than 1,300 children and teenagers have died in violence linked to the Mexican drug war since December 2006, a report says. The figure was released on Wednesday by the Mexican daily Reforma, which cited the Network for the Rights of Children (Redim). Redim, consisting of 64 non-governmental organizations, has documented the deaths of youths for over four years, dpa reported. Further, the figure obtained by Redim was based on the Health Ministry's death statistics. “There is serious concern among organizations for the defense of boys, girls and teenagers, because the number of deaths has not only not stopped growing but actually rose, despite the alerts we sent the federal government," Redim director Martin Perez said. Youths have died both as direct targeted victims as well as bystanders in the crossfire of shootings. Since December 2006, over 40,000 people have died as a result of the country's organized crime, the report said. Mexico has long been plagued by drug-related crime, but the violence has boomed since the government launched a military crackdown on organized crime in 2006. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has deployed some 50,000 troops across Mexico to combat the drug gangs. He has also recently announced that four additional battalions will also be deployed to the northeast of the country in the near future.