Mexico City  - A 12-year-old girl died in northern Mexico after alleged members of a drug gang forced her and two friends into a van, apparently using them as human shields in a shootout, Mexican media reported Wednesday.

The girl reportedly died on Monday in Ciudad Juarez, a violent city on the border with the United States. The girls were in a park when they were forced into the van. Later, they were used in a shootout with another vehicle.

The authorities presumed the drug gang attempted to use the girls as a shield, to keep at bay a rival group that was chasing them.

Around the abandoned van, police found 21 AK-47 bullet shells.

In the back seat they found the body of a girl. Her two friends were found alive, although one of them suffered non-life-threatening wounds.

The rival gang reportedly took the van driver, while another person travelling with the girls managed to escape.

Chihuahua state Governor Jose Reyes Baeza asked the central government of Mexican President Felipe Calderon "to intensify the presence of security forces in the state" to contain the ongoing wave of violence and prevent the deaths of more innocent people. (dpa)