MEXICO CITY, May 10, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Dozens of minors have been killed during months of fighting between two factions of the Sinaloa drug cartel in northwestern Mexico, a local ombudsman said Friday.

Nearly 100 minors have gone missing in violence that followed the capture last July of a cartel co-founder, Oscar Loza, president of the Sinaloa State Human Rights Commission, said.

"Thirty nine minors have lost their lives in this armed conflict," he told AFP, citing data from the public prosecutor's office.

The victims include two girls, aged seven and 12, who died on Monday after being caught in the crossfire between gunmen and security forces.

A 12-year-old boy was also wounded along with his parents and two other relatives, authorities said.

"When will the people recover from such a deep and painful wound? Never. It will always be there, not because of numbers but the smiles that were extinguished," Loza said.

Monday's shooting occurred in the municipality of Badiraguato, the birthplace of imprisoned drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and other senior cartel figures, authorities said.

Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada claimed last year he was kidnapped in Mexico by Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of El Chapo's sons, and flown to the United States in a private plane against his will.

The infighting is believed to pit gang members loyal to El Chapo and his sons against others aligned with Zambada.

The conflict has left more than 1,200 people dead and 1,400 missing, terrorized residents and dealt a heavy blow to businesses in the state capital Culiacan and other towns in Sinaloa.

Criminal violence, much of it linked to drug trafficking and gangs, has seen around 480,000 people murdered in Mexico since 2006.