Witness: 21 killed by Mexico army had surrendered
By MARK STEVENSON and E. EDUARDO CASTILLO, Associated Press
Sep 18, 2014 12:45 PM CDT
In this Sept. 15, 2014 photo, a woman who did not want to give her name for fear of reprisals, holds up a photograph of her late 15-year-old daughter Erika Gomez Gonzalez, at her home in Arcelia, Mexico. The woman says she witnessed her child's death when army soldiers fired first at an armed group...   (Associated Press)

ARCELIA, Mexico (AP) — A woman says she saw Mexican soldiers shoot and kill her 15-year-old daughter after a confrontation with a suspected drug gang, even though the teenager was lying wounded on the ground.

The mother says 20 others were shot and killed in rural southern Mexico after they surrendered and were disarmed.

The woman spoke to The Associated Press last weekend and didn't want to be identified for fear of reprisals. The army had not responded to her allegations Thursday.

The Mexican government has maintained that all died during a fierce shootout after soldiers were fired on in the early morning of June 30. That version came into question because government troops suffered only one wounded, and physical evidence at the scene pointed toward more selective killings.

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