As many as 6 Mexican teachers killed in clashes with police

He said they arrived later after determining that shots had been fired at police officers.

All the dead were civilians, with two having ties to the union.

Paramedics said the three victims had bullet wounds.

One of the victims was a minor while the other two were 23 and 28 years old, according to paramedics who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Authorities had previously given a death toll of six but Ruiz told MVS radio that the deaths in Juchitan were “linked” to the unrest. At least 55 officers and 53 civilians were injured in the clashes, while more than 20 people were arrested. In that town, various human rights groups are calling out the Mexican government after eyewitness accounts and various photographs point to Mexican cops firing at the rioting teachers, Mexico’s SinEmbargo.MX reported.

Numerous injured people were taken to the town’s church before being transferred to hospitals. Several are in “critical” condition, the government said.

The violence came as Christof Heyns, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said on Monday that police accountability in Mexico was insufficient. Governor Gabino Cue said the police intervention was needed to restore food and fuel supplies on state roads.

An initial government statement countered that the federal police were not carrying weapons and stated “it is known” the shooters were infiltrators in the protest movement. Shops closed and the streets were deserted.

Nunez is secretary general of the Oaxaca-based Section 22 branch of the CNTE. “They didn’t want to have dialogue”. They have been conducting a series of strikes since May, demanding talks with Pesident Nieto and his Minister of Education Aurelio Nuño.

The government has relentlessly promoted the reforms, which include mandatory teacher evaluations, as the answer to Mexico’s dismal state schools.

Federal prosecutors say they set up an illegal financial network to pay for protests and line their own pockets, using this between 2013 and 2015, as they effectively controlled the payroll of Oaxaca’s teachers.

His deputy, Francisco Villalobos, was detained on charges of stealing text books.