At least 24 people were killed in two separate armed attacks in Honduras on Thursday, according to police.
The first incident occurred on a farm in the Trujillo municipality, killing at least 19 workers.
“Two teams are working in two locations. The first team has already identified 13 dead persons, and the second has counted six people who also lost their lives,” prosecutor’s office spokesman Yuri Mora said on local television.
The death toll may rise as forensic experts continue to work in the area.
Northern Honduras has long been affected by agricultural conflict. Authorities said rival gangs were fighting for control of palm plantations and drug trafficking routes.
Police officers killed in second attack
In a separate incident, gunmen opened fire on police officers in the municipality of Omoa, in the Cortes department, near the Guatemalan border.
According to police, at least four police officers and one civilian were killed.
Officers had traveled from the capital Tegucigalpa to Omoa as part of an anti-gang operation.
Following the incidents, the National Police said in a statement that it would “proceed immediately with direct intervention in the affected areas.”
Both attacks occurred in the same week that Honduras’s Congress approved a package of reforms aimed at curbing violence in the country.
The Central American country has the highest murder rate in the region, with more than 24 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Edited by: Rana Taha