Summary 44 men from an unidentified militia were arrested while 13 weapons and 23 vehicles were seized.
MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Nine people were killed in clashes between the army and gunmen in the restive western Mexico state of Michoacan as security forces made 44 arrests, officials said Tuesday.
The violence flared in the town of Apatzingan, situated in the troubled region of Tierra Caliente, former stronghold of the Knights Templar criminal gang, federal commissioner Alfredo Castillo told reporters.
Soldiers and federal police were deployed early Tuesday to disperse around 40 armed men near Apatzingan, Castillo said.
Two police were injured and one man was killed after being struck by a vehicle during an initial confrontation, Castillo said.
Forty-four men from an unidentified militia were arrested while 13 weapons and 23 vehicles were seized by authorities.
A further eight people were killed in a second confrontation with gunmen as police attempted to move the seized vehicles to a depot, Castillo said.
Violence has gripped Tierra Caliente since 2013, when armed militias formed to combat the influence of the Knights Templar gang.
After the death or arrest of Knights Templar leaders following a crackdown by authorities in May, the government reached an agreement with vigilante militias to demobilize and be transformed into rural police forces under the supervision of federal authorities.
Tuesday s violence followed clashes on December 16 between two rival former vigilante groups which left 11 dead and saw 37 arrests.
