A mass grave was found on Oct. 4 in Iguala, a poverty-stricken area in the state of Guerrero, Mexico.
According to Yahoo News, two hit men admitted to killing 17 of the 43 students that have gone missing in southern Mexico. Iñaky Blanco, the chief prosecutor of Guerrero, fears that some of the 28 bodies found in the mass grave will be those missing students. Blanco said that it will take at least 15 days to make identifications, according to the article.
"A bed of branches and tree trunks was made, on which the bodies of the victims were laid and a flammable substance was used," Blanco was quoted as saying.
The missing students were accused of hijacking buses that transported them and Iguala municipal police shot at the buses, according to Revolution News. [Warning: Revolution News shows graphic and potentially disturbing photos of victims of violence.] Other reports by outlets such as Borderland Beat, include ties to the mayor of Iguala and attacks by cartel Guerreros Unidos. Accounts of that night on Sept. 26 are varying. The uncertainty for the parents of the missing students is the only constant.
According to Yahoo, surviving students said they went to Iguala for a fundraiser and were attacked by police on their way home. Witnesses, according to the article, said the students are training to be teachers and are known for their radical protests.
Blanco reportedly said that it was Francisco Salgado Valladares, public security director for Iguala, who directed gang members to the buses.
"They grabbed 17, took them to the top of a hill in Pueblo Viejo where they have clandestine graves and where they say they killed them," Blanco said.
What remains is a mass grave and four suspects under arrest, according to Quadratin Mexico.
