Burial pits found: Six mass graves discovered in Mexico

Site was rocked by a series of clashes between students, police last week

IGUALA, MEXICO: Authorities have found mass graves with the charred remains of up to 20 people in the restive southern Mexican state of Guerrero, at a time when police are scouring the area for nearly four dozen missing students after a rash of violence.

The remains were buried on a hillside up a rocky dirt track on the outskirts of Iguala in six suspected graves, which were still fresh, a local official said. Investigators discovered the burned remains, which were put into bags, two officials said, asking to remain anonymous. It was unclear who the remains belonged to, they added.

Guerrero Attorney General Inaky Blanco told reporters in Iguala on Saturday that the remains would be sent to Mexico’s forensic service to determine whether or not the corpses match those of the missing students. He declined to say how many graves or corpses had been found.

The grisly discovery was made on the northwestern outskirts of Iguala. Local and state police cordoned off the entrance to road leading up a hill where multiple police vehicles had entered.

Iguala is located about 193 kilometres south of Mexico City in the increasingly violent state of Guerrero, the site of clashes involving students, police and armed men last week. At least six people were killed in a spate of incidents.

Local government officials criticised the police for showing an excessive use of force with the students in Guerrero, where gangs have evolved from a fragmented drug cartel and are fighting turf wars. Thirteen of an original group of 57 missing people re-emerged this week. Some had hidden, others had gone home.

Many mass graves have been found across Mexico in recent years and months, the legacy of drug gang violence that has killed around 100,000 people since 2007.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2014.