Fired on Kovoi

Soldiers shot at migrants in Mexico: 6 dead

Soldiers are said to have heard shots and fired in response.(Bild: AFP/AFP (Archivbild))

Soldiers in southern Mexico have fired on a group of migrants who were presumably traveling with smugglers in trucks. Six people were killed and twelve others were injured. The people are said to have been mistaken for gang members.

According to official reports, the incident took place at night near the municipality of Villa Comaltitlán in the state of Chiapas. An investigation has been launched and the two soldiers who fired have been suspended from duty. 

Soldiers heard shots
According to the soldiers involved, they had come across a convoy of three vehicles while on patrol. They are said to have heard shots and then fired. One of the vehicles had previously swerved at high speed.

Drugs and migration

For years, soldiers in Mexico have been deployed on a massive scale against the drug cartels and for other internal security tasks. Activists denounce human rights violations. Most migrants move through Mexico in the direction of the USA. They are fleeing poverty, violence and political crises in their home countries.

The migrants were part of a group of 33 people from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India, Pakistan and other countries who were traveling in one of the vehicles.