Relatives of Disappeared Ayotzinapa 43 Protest, Demand Justice

Family members of the 43 forcibly disappeared Ayotzinapa students protested Wednesday outside the 27th Infantry Battalion military base in Iguala, Guerrero where the students were disappeared almost 10 months ago, local media reported Wednesday.

Demonstrators carrying signs bearing the names and faces of the disappeared students were met by some 300 riot police in front of the military base, where protesters aimed to gain access to personally speak with military officials.

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The movement of family members and fellow students of the disappeared reiterated their demand for an external expert probe into the Ayotzinapa case, calling for the federal government to allow the Interamerican Human Rights Commission to question military personnel who were present when the 43 students were disappeared last September, Prensa Latina reported.

According to national defense authorities, some protesters threw rocks into the military base while riot police blocked their entry from outside, but no injuries were reported, according to La Jornada. Riot police eventually dispersed the family members and their supporters with teargas, pushing the march onwards to the city center.

Last week, the Mexican attorney general's office announced it will resume investigation into the 43 disappeared students after having declared the case closed last December. Family members of the disappeared never agreed with the official government position, demanding that their loved ones be found and brought home alive.

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The demonstration comes just 11 days ahead of the 10 month anniversary of the forced disappearance of the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training college in Iguala, Guerrero that sparked a movement which not only demanded justice for the missing students but also brought increased attention to the Mexican government's dirty track record of presiding over widespread forced disappearances.

Almost 10,000 people have been reported missing in Mexico since President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in 2012 alone.