Members of the Mexican military discuss Fuerzas Amigas 2024 with the U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, Rafael Foley, right, and Army Brig. Gen. Tomika Seaberry, center, commanding general of the 4th Sustainment Command. --Cathryn Lindsay/AIR FORCE
MEXICO CITY—Six migrants died after Mexican soldiers fired on a group of 33 migrants traveling in a pick-up truck that had tried to evade a military patrol, the defense ministry said on Wednesday.
Another 10 migrants were injured in the incident on Tuesday evening, the ministry said.
The group included people of Egyptian, Nepalese, Cuban, Indian and Pakistani nationality.
The incident took place just before 9 p.m. local time on Tuesday while the patrol traveled on a highway near the town of Huixtla, some 40 km from Tapachula, by the Guatemalan border.
The pick-up truck was followed by two vehicles similar to those used by criminal groups in the area, it said, and soldiers reported hearing explosions after which two officers opened fire.
The two soldiers who fired on the migrants were removed from their posts and federal prosecutors had been informed. A military tribunal will also carry out its own investigation.
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