Mexico Second Only To Syria In Deaths In 2012
The Geneva-based Academy of International Humanitarian Law has released a study claiming that Mexico was second only to Syria in so-called "intentional deaths" in 2012.
Intentional deaths is defined by the study's authors as premeditated murder and those lives lost by people caught in crossfire between dueling cartels and cartels battling the Mexican military.
About 55,000 deaths were reported in Syria, followed by Mexico with 9,000 lives lost to violence.
In Mexico's case, the report suggests many unreported crimes will never be resolved, adding that many more untold thousands have sustained injuries that will compromise victims' quality of life.
The study's authors say they hope to turn over this material to war crimes tribunals should the data be requested.
There are calls from some quarters inside Mexico for former Mexican President Felipe Calderón to face a war crimes tribunal, as a consequence of his administration's campaign against Mexico's drug cartels.
That campaign spun out of control during his six-year term as president, claiming numerous civilian casualties as cartels battle each other and the Mexican military.
The Academy of International Humanitarian Law analysis identifies 38 armed conflicts in the world.
Mexico officially does not call the continuing chaos an armed conflict.
