As Mexicans struggle with relentless massacres, mass graves and assassinations, a group of activists have turned to an outside power for help — the International Criminal Court.

The group, which includes leading academics, lawyers and journalists, filed the complaint before the ICC on Friday denouncing both the major drug traffickers and President Felipe Calderon for the violence that has consumed the country.

Calderon, they argue, is culpable in the violence, which has left more than 50,000 people dead in drug-related incidents since he declared war on the cartels in 2006. They say he sent soldiers onto the streets who have shot dead civilians and tortured suspects, according to a recentreport by New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch.

The violence of soldiers and narco-killers constitues war crimes, the suit says, which is backed by 23,000 signatures.