Mexican marines guard the site where an unspecified number of bodies was found in clandestine graves.(AFP)
Iguala De La Independencia, Mexico:
Authorities unearthed on Saturday unmarked graves containing a number of bodies on the outskirts of a southern Mexico town where 43 students disappeared after a deadly police shooting last week.
Inaky Blanco, chief prosecutor for the violence-plagued state of Guerrero, said it was too early to say how many bodies were buried in the pits outside Iguala, 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Mexico City.
"We still can't talk about an exact number of bodies. We are still working at the site," Blanco told a news conference in the state capital, Chilpancingo.
The bodies were taken to forensic experts for genetic tests to check whether they are related to the families of the missing, Blanco said.
Governor Angel Aguirre appealed for calm in his state, which is mired in poverty, gang violence and social unrest.
"I call on all (Guerrero state residents) to maintain harmony, non-confrontation, and avoid violence," he said.
"To the families and friends of those who were savagely massacred, I offer my solidarity and support as well as the willingness ... for them to hear directly the progress of these investigations," he said.
The missing students are from a teacher training college near Chilpancingo known as a hotbed of protests.
Thousands of students and teachers blocked the highway between Chilpancingo and Acapulco for hours on Thursday, demanding help from federal authorities to find the missing.
The 43 students disappeared last weekend after Iguala municipal officers shot at buses that the group had seized to return to return home after holding fundraising activities. Three students were killed.
Another three people died when police and suspected gang members shot at another bus carrying football players on the outskirts of town.
A survivor told AFP that the officers took away 30 to 40 students in patrol cars.
Blanco said the graves were found around noon after suspects told investigators about their location.
The pits are in a hillside community known as Pueblo Viejo, which is part of the Iguala municipality. Police kept reporters far from the grave site.
Blanco said investigators had confirmed suspicions that a criminal organization, the Guerreros Unidos, was involved in last week's crimes and that local police officers belong to the gang.
- Families are 'very worried' -
The police's links to organized crime has raised fears about the fate of the students in a country where drug cartels regularly hide bodies in mass graves.
Around 30 bodies were found in mass graves in Iguala alone this year.
"We are very worried. The families are very anxious," said Vidulfo Rosales, a human rights lawyer representing relatives of the missing.
Authorities have detained 22 Iguala officers over the shootings and issued arrest warrants for the town's mayor and security chief, both of whom have disappeared.
But Blanco said more than 30 people have now been detained and that more people could be arrested.
Dozens of police officers, soldiers and investigators were deployed to the area after the graves were found.
The United Nations has urged Mexican authorities to conduct an "effective and diligent" search for the missing, calling the case "one of the most terrible events of recent times."
Parents want to hold out hope, but fearing for the worst is not a great stretch in a country where 80,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since 2006. Another 22,000 people are unaccounted for.
Inaky Blanco, chief prosecutor for the violence-plagued state of Guerrero, said it was too early to say how many bodies were buried in the pits outside Iguala, 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Mexico City.
"We still can't talk about an exact number of bodies. We are still working at the site," Blanco told a news conference in the state capital, Chilpancingo.
The bodies were taken to forensic experts for genetic tests to check whether they are related to the families of the missing, Blanco said.
Governor Angel Aguirre appealed for calm in his state, which is mired in poverty, gang violence and social unrest.
"I call on all (Guerrero state residents) to maintain harmony, non-confrontation, and avoid violence," he said.
"To the families and friends of those who were savagely massacred, I offer my solidarity and support as well as the willingness ... for them to hear directly the progress of these investigations," he said.
The missing students are from a teacher training college near Chilpancingo known as a hotbed of protests.
Thousands of students and teachers blocked the highway between Chilpancingo and Acapulco for hours on Thursday, demanding help from federal authorities to find the missing.
The 43 students disappeared last weekend after Iguala municipal officers shot at buses that the group had seized to return to return home after holding fundraising activities. Three students were killed.
Another three people died when police and suspected gang members shot at another bus carrying football players on the outskirts of town.
A survivor told AFP that the officers took away 30 to 40 students in patrol cars.
Blanco said the graves were found around noon after suspects told investigators about their location.
The pits are in a hillside community known as Pueblo Viejo, which is part of the Iguala municipality. Police kept reporters far from the grave site.
Blanco said investigators had confirmed suspicions that a criminal organization, the Guerreros Unidos, was involved in last week's crimes and that local police officers belong to the gang.
- Families are 'very worried' -
The police's links to organized crime has raised fears about the fate of the students in a country where drug cartels regularly hide bodies in mass graves.
Around 30 bodies were found in mass graves in Iguala alone this year.
"We are very worried. The families are very anxious," said Vidulfo Rosales, a human rights lawyer representing relatives of the missing.
Authorities have detained 22 Iguala officers over the shootings and issued arrest warrants for the town's mayor and security chief, both of whom have disappeared.
But Blanco said more than 30 people have now been detained and that more people could be arrested.
Dozens of police officers, soldiers and investigators were deployed to the area after the graves were found.
The United Nations has urged Mexican authorities to conduct an "effective and diligent" search for the missing, calling the case "one of the most terrible events of recent times."
Parents want to hold out hope, but fearing for the worst is not a great stretch in a country where 80,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence since 2006. Another 22,000 people are unaccounted for.
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