Mexico City, Jul 22 (IANS): Homicides in Mexico declined 3.5 per cent in the first half of the year compared to the same period of 2020, Minister of Security and Citizen Protection Rosa Icela Rodriguez said.

Between January and June, 16,937 homicides were registered in the country, with six states accounting for 50.2 per cent of the victims, Xinhua news agency quoted the mInister as saying at a briefing on Wednesday.

"Intentional homicide has been contained and it continues to be contained," said Rodriguez, who was accompanied by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The six states with the most homicides are Guanajuato, Baja California, Jalisco, State of Mexico, Michoacan and Chihuahua, according to the official.

Authorities will reinforce crime prevention campaigns in those states through several programs, such as attention to drug addiction and rehabilitation of public spaces, said Rodriguez.

In June, the number of homicides reached 2,660, in contrast to the record 3,074 registered in July 2018, months before Lopez Obrador took office, official figures showed.

The number of homicides in Mexico has been on the rise since 2014.