Clashes in southern Mexico kill at least 10 drug cartel members

At least 10 people have been killed in two bloody clashes in a region of southern Mexico plagued by drug cartel violence.

Suspected members of a cartel broke into the ranch estate of the leader of a rival gang in the town of La Concordia in Chiapas state at the weekend, leading to armed fighting that left around five people dead, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Wednesday.

In a separate incident, López Obrador said the National Guard was later confronted by gunmen at a bridge construction site in the area, where a further five people were killed.

Thirteen suspects, including some from neighbouring Guatemala, were arrested and two dozen guns were confiscated, López Obrador said at his daily press conference.

Drug cartels and smaller criminal syndicates control entire regions of Mexico and fight among themselves for areas of influence and smuggling routes for drugs and migrants.

Last year, more than 30,000 homicides were recorded in the country of around 126 million inhabitants. Most of the killings are never solved.