Civic and women's groups in Mexico are demanding authorities solve the cases of more than 200 young women who were raped and murdered in the border city of Juarez.

The groups say the killings began more than eight years ago and that officials must take action to solve the problem of violence against women.

One Juarez women's shelter says six women were slain this month, five of them by their husbands. The shelter also says one case possibly involves a serial killer.

Police arrested two men after the bodies of eight young women were found in a Juarez ravine in November. The men, however, claim authorities tortured them into confessing. Some women's leaders also doubt the men's guilt and have accused the police of incompetence.

Juarez is in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. State and local officials have sought help from international experts in solving the cases. The situation has drawn the attention of the Mexican Congress, which established a special commission last year to look into the killings.

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