(CNN) -- Twenty-six police officers in the town of Ascension in northern Mexico resigned Thursday, surrendering their guns and uniforms, the state news agency Notimex reported.

Federal and state police, as well as the Mexican army, have taken over law enforcement in the town, according to Mayor Jaime Dominguez Loya, who said they resigned over personal safety concerns

Some members of the police force have been accused of providing protection to powerful drug cartels.

Ascension is about 100 miles southwest of El Paso, Texas.