Mexico withdraws federal police from violence-plagued city

Some 3,000 Mexico federal police on Saturday began to withdraw from the city of Oaxaca, which had been in unrest for more than five months amid outcries for resignation of the state's governor.

The prosecutor's office of the Ozxaca State said that the state and city police forces would resume the security operation following the withdrawal of the federal police contingent, which had fulfilled its duty of restoring social order.

Beginning from May, protestors including trade unionists, leftists and Indian groups had been gathering in the Oaxaca city for five months running to press their demand for the ouster of Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz. They accused Ruiz of rigging the 2004 election and of using violence against his opponents.

Then president Vicente Fox ordered the deployment of federal police to the city on Oct. 28 in a bid to end the months-long anarchy in the poorest state of the country.

The unrest resulted in at least 11 deaths and cost about 650 million U.S. dollars in property damages.

Source: Xinhua