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Mexico insists 43 missing students are dead | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Mexico's attorney general says he can prove what happened to 43 students who disappeared in the southern state of Guerrero in September. | Mexico's attorney general says he can prove what happened to 43 students who disappeared in the southern state of Guerrero in September. |
Jesus Murillo Karam said his team had interviewed 99 people including members of the criminal gang whom he alleges murdered the students. | Jesus Murillo Karam said his team had interviewed 99 people including members of the criminal gang whom he alleges murdered the students. |
Correspondents say it is the first time he has declared all the students dead. | |
Parents reacted angrily, saying that without proof, they would continue to believe their children were alive. | |
Mr Murillo Karam insisted that the students were killed by the gang and their bodies burnt at a rubbish dump - an explanation which relatives of the disappeared have rejected. | |
He said his team had 39 confessions from police and from members of the gang. | |
The remains of only one student have been identified so far after badly burnt bones were sent to a laboratory in Austria for DNA analysis. | The remains of only one student have been identified so far after badly burnt bones were sent to a laboratory in Austria for DNA analysis. |
The laboratory said it was impossible to identify any others because of the bad condition of the remains. | The laboratory said it was impossible to identify any others because of the bad condition of the remains. |
Key witness | Key witness |
Mr Murillo said his information was based on 386 declarations from interviewees, 16 police raids and two reconstructions. | Mr Murillo said his information was based on 386 declarations from interviewees, 16 police raids and two reconstructions. |
He said a key witness was Felipe Rodriguez Salgado, otherwise known as "El Cepillo", a member of the criminal gang who is alleged to have taken part in the kidnapping, murder and disappearance of the students. | He said a key witness was Felipe Rodriguez Salgado, otherwise known as "El Cepillo", a member of the criminal gang who is alleged to have taken part in the kidnapping, murder and disappearance of the students. |
"The evidence allows us to determine that the students were kidnapped, killed, burned and thrown in the river," said Mr Murillo. | "The evidence allows us to determine that the students were kidnapped, killed, burned and thrown in the river," said Mr Murillo. |
He said evidence of gas, diesel and burnt rocks and steel from the inside of tyres at the scene proved this had taken place. | He said evidence of gas, diesel and burnt rocks and steel from the inside of tyres at the scene proved this had taken place. |
He also said forensic research showed the fire would have been hot enough to burn all 43 bodies - a view which has been disputed by Mexican scientists. | He also said forensic research showed the fire would have been hot enough to burn all 43 bodies - a view which has been disputed by Mexican scientists. |
Relatives of the disappeared have been sceptical about government explanations over what happened. | Relatives of the disappeared have been sceptical about government explanations over what happened. |
At an emotional news conference on Tuesday, parents accused the government of trying to end the investigation. | |
"We don't believe anything of what they say," said Carmen Cruz, whose 19-year-old son Jorge is one of the disappeared students. | |
"We are not going to allow this case to be closed." | |
The lawyer representing the families, Vidulfo Rosales, presented a 10-point argument explaining why they believe the investigation should continue. | |
Families say there has been a lack of conclusive forensic results. | |
Mr Rosales said that several key suspects were still at large and that, if detained, they could shed new light on the official version of events. | |
On Monday, relatives of the students led a huge march in Mexico City demanding government action and concrete proof of what had happened. | |
They maintain that the military based in Iguala would have known about the arrival of the students in the town and what happened to them. | |
They have campaigned to gain access to inspect army barracks where they allege students might have been taken. | They have campaigned to gain access to inspect army barracks where they allege students might have been taken. |
But at his press conference, Mr Murillo said "there was not a shred of evidence" that the army were involved. | |
Alexander Mora is the only student to have been identified so far, after his remains were taken for DNA tests at a forensic centre in Austria. | Alexander Mora is the only student to have been identified so far, after his remains were taken for DNA tests at a forensic centre in Austria. |
He was in his first year of studies at the rural teacher training college in Ayotzinapa, a college with a tradition of left-wing political activism. | He was in his first year of studies at the rural teacher training college in Ayotzinapa, a college with a tradition of left-wing political activism. |
Alexander Mora was part of a group of students who travelled to the nearby town Iguala on 26 September and, as part of a protest, commandeered a number of buses. | Alexander Mora was part of a group of students who travelled to the nearby town Iguala on 26 September and, as part of a protest, commandeered a number of buses. |
On their way back to their college the students were intercepted by police allegedly on the orders of the local mayor. | On their way back to their college the students were intercepted by police allegedly on the orders of the local mayor. |
The attorney general has argued the police handed the students over to a criminal drug gang who mistook them for a rival group and executed them. | The attorney general has argued the police handed the students over to a criminal drug gang who mistook them for a rival group and executed them. |
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