Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday deplored a clash between criminal groups that led to attacks on civilians and left 11 people dead.  "This has never happened before and I hope it never happens again, because the innocent civilian population was attacked as a kind of retaliation," the president said during his daily press conference.

Mexico City, August 13 (RHC)-- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday deplored a clash between criminal groups that led to attacks on civilians and left 11 people dead.  "This has never happened before and I hope it never happens again, because the innocent civilian population was attacked as a kind of retaliation," the president said during his daily press conference.

"It was not only a confrontation between the two groups, but the moment came when they started shooting at civilians ... this is the most regrettable part," he told journalists at the National Palace in Mexico City.

Undersecretary of Security and Citizen Protection Ricardo Mejia detailed at the press conference that the criminal cartels Los Chapos and Los Mexicles clashed inside a local prison in Ciudad Juarez in the northern state of Chihuahua on Thursday.

Afterward, one of the organizations ordered riots and attacks against the civilian population, Mejia said, which led to the deaths of nine civilians, including four local radio station employees, as well as two in the prison.

So far, six Los Mexicles members who participated in the events have been arrested, according to Mexican officials.