Mexico City Nearly four months since the headline-grabbing disappearance of 43 college students in southern Mexico, the victims families are still searching for answers. <\/p>\n
So far, the DNA of only one student 21-year-old Alexander Mora has been confirmed. The Austrian lab working to help identify the pulverized remains said Tuesdaythey were unable to find any other match. The attorney general asked scientists at the Innsbruck Medical University to retest the remains, which could take an additional three months. <\/p>\n
Despitegovernment pledges to holdthe perpetrators of this grisly crime accountable, progress has been glacial. But the case isn't likely to fade from public attention: victims' families say theywont rest until they have concrete proof of their deaths; and scientists have challenged the government's narrative based ontestimony from imprisoned gang members. <\/p>\n
The 43 students at a teacher's college went missing on Sept. 26 in Iguala, a city in the southern state of Guerrero. According to the government, the students were kidnapped by police officers and handed off to a criminal gang allegedly on the orders of the towns mayor, who is now in police custody. The students were allegedly killed, and their bodies burned at a nearby dump.The Mexican government had to reach out to specialists to try to identify the remains. <\/p>\n
The subsequent search for the students turned up dozens of unrelated clandestine graves around Iguala, highlighting the lawlessness of the impoverished region. About 100 people have been arrested in connection to the case, including Felipe Rodrguez Salgado, analleged gang hit man arrested last week. <\/p>\n
The Austrian lab results have fueledspeculation over whether the governments account of events is true and given some relatives hope that their missing loved one could still be alive. The lack of DNA evidence makes us believe even less in what the government is saying, Epifanio Alvaraz, the father of 19-year-old missing student Jorge Alvarez, told Bloomberg News. <\/p>\n
Families of the victims havepressed the government for access to Army barracks to search for any proof that their children may have been there. The government said last Friday that families could enter an Army base in Iguala.Federal prosecutor Tomas Zeron said earlier this month that there is no evidence troops were involved. <\/p>\n
We are not accusing the Army, we are not saying that they are responsible, the families lawyer, Vidulfo Rosales, said after the Iguala base announcement. Theres a legal obligation by the public ministry to investigate whether theres any truth to rumors that soldiers may have played a role in the events. <\/p>\n
Its not just the victims' families that are skeptical. Two Mexican scientists have published a reportchallenging the governments account of events, and specifically how the bodies were allegedly destroyed in a mass cremation. According to a report by McClatchy News: <\/p>\n
The attorney general said two gang members had confessed to taking part in the incineration, which they said took more than 15 hours. <\/p>\n
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Go here to read the rest: Mexico City Nearly four months since the headline-grabbing disappearance of 43 college students in southern Mexico, the victims families are still searching for answers. So far, the DNA of only one student 21-year-old Alexander Mora has been confirmed. The Austrian lab working to help identify the pulverized remains said Tuesdaythey were unable to find any other match Continue reading
\nDNA test setback: Mexicans still stumped by missing students case. (+video)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"