'PEACE CARAVAN' COMES TO MURDER CITY

A Mexican convoy protesting violence triggered by a military crackdown
on drug cartels has arrived in Ciudad Juarez on the final leg of its
3000-kilometre journey.

The peace caravan of about 20 buses, led by famed poet and journalist
Javier Sicilia, reached Mexico's most violent city late on Thursday
and was greeted by mariachi players and hundreds of
well-wishers.

The caravan had earlier travelled through northern Chihuahua state,
where demonstrators erected a huge wooden cross outside local government
offices to mark the spot where local woman Marisela Escobedo was killed
by a gunman in December while protesting against the release of her
daughter's killer.
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Sicilia, who has emerged as the face of the protest movement since his
son and six others were tortured to death near the central resort of
Cuernavaca - allegedly by a cartel - plans to unveil a plaque to
Escobedo in Chihuahua.

The caravan's arrival in Ciudad Juarez came amid a new spurt of
violence on Thursday, when 21 bodies were found strewn around Morelia
in western Mexico.

Police said some of the victims' faces were covered by tape and some
showed signs of torture.

"The presence of this caravan helps us to break the fear that has
engulfed Chihuahuan society - not just because of the drug gangs but
also due to the inaction of authorities," local rights group leader
Victor Quintana said.

Ciudad Juarez, a city of one million, is considered the most violent
in Mexico, with more than 3100 murders in 2010.

Today Sicilia will cross the border into the US state of Texas, where
he will meet with American groups opposed to the violence