Protesters burn state government buildings in Guerrero, Mexico over student disappearances

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Protesters set fire to government buildings in Mexico's Guerrero state on Monday to express outrage over the alleged police involvement in the disappearance and suspected murder of 43 college students.

Protests have been ongoing since the students disappeared Sept. 26, but Monday's protest marked a violent turn in the state capital, Chilpancingo.

Enraged students, teachers and family members issued a demand to state Governor Angel Aguirre to release the students or explain what happened to them within 24 hours.

Investigators said that forensic examinations are still being conducted on the charred remains of 28 corpses buried in shallow graves. The graves were found based on a tip provided by alleged assassins with the Guerreros Unidos gang who confessed to working with police to attack the students.

Contradicting federal prosecutors' statements regarding the investigation, Aguirre told reporters over the weekend "I have confidence that we'll find [the students] alive," claiming that some of the graves were not those of the students but of other victims "of organized crime."

Authorities have so far arrested 34 people, mostly local police, in connection with the Sept. 26 attack, which occurred as students from Normal Rural de Ayotzinapa attempted to leave Iguala aboard three commercial buses they had earlier commandeered -- a common practice among students of the school and largely tolerated. Police blocked the buses and then opened fire. A number of students were taken away by the police and 43 were ultimately reported missing.