DNA tests confirm remains in mass grave not those of missing Mexican students

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- DNA testing confirmed that human remains found in a mass grave in southern Mexico are not those of missing students who disappeared Sept. 26. after clashing with police.

Mexico's Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam noted that DNA testing is still being conducted for remains discovered in four other grave sites. The graves were found based on a tip provided by alleged assassins with the Guerreros Unidos gang who confessed to working with police to attack the students.

Authorities have so far arrested 50 people, mostly local police, in connection with the Sept. 26 attack, which occurred as students from Normal Rural de Ayotzinapa attempted to leave Iguala in Guerrero state aboard three commercial buses they had earlier commandeered -- a common practice among students of the school and largely tolerated. Police blocked the buses and then opened fire. A number of students were taken away by the police and 43 were ultimately reported missing.

Family members of the 43 missing students and demonstrators have taken to the streets in Guerrero, Mexico City, Morelia, Oaxaca, San Cristobal de las Casa and Veracruz to protest organized crime and encourage the government's search for the missing.

Protests turned violent Monday when protesters set fire to government buildings in Guerrero state capital, Chilpancingo, to express outrage over the alleged police involvement in the students' disappearance.

It is unclear when the results of the DNA tests on the remains in the four other grave sites will be available.

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Here is the original post:
DNA tests confirm remains in mass grave not those of missing Mexican students