MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Sixteen people died in Mexico's central state of Zacatecas following an apparent violent dispute between criminal gangs, authorities said on Saturday, as the state grapples with a spike in violence.

       State prosecutor Francisco Murillo said 10 bodies were found wrapped in blankets in the streets of the Fresnillo municipality while another six were "suspended" inside a warehouse in the nearby community Panfilo Natera.

       Two people who were transporting another corpse a day earlier have been arrested, he added, saying the person could be linked to the other deaths.

       Last month, authorities found the bodies of 10 people abandoned inside a vehicle in the historic center of the state capital, also named Zacatecas, a few steps from the government offices.

       Homicides rose last year, official figures showed: the state of Zacatecas registered 1,050 in 2021, about 200 more than the previous year.

       (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Leslie Adler)