MEXICO CITY, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Two rival vigilante groups in Mexico's western state of Michoacan had a violent show-down in La Ruana on Tuesday that left at least 11 people dead.
The two-hour shoot-out pitted Hipolito Mora's followers against a group led by rival Luis Antonio Torres. Five members of Mora's group and six of Torres' were killed.
Tensions between Mora's and Torres' groups intensified earlier this year when they traded accusations of infiltration by the Knights Templar and argued over land seized by the drug cartel.
Vigilante groups, also referred to as "self-defense groups," were formed in February 2013 to protect locals from drug cartels, including the infamous Knights Templar, in the face of insufficient protection by government security forces.
The Mexican government has tried to rein in the vigilante groups by incorporating them into the government-sanctioned Rural Defense Corps. With rivals at odds in La Ruana, the government dispatched federal police to gain control there Tuesday.
