Egyptians among six migrants killed by Mexican soldiers

The six migrants killed after Mexican soldiers shot at the pickup truck they were traveling in were from Egypt, El Salvador and Peru, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday.

The killings, which took place Tuesday in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, underscore tensions at Mexico’s southern border as the country faces U.S. pressure to curb migration.

“It is a regrettable event and must be investigated and punished,” Sheinbaum said during her regular morning news conference.

She said the attorney general’s office is investigating the incident.

“A situation like this cannot be repeated,” she added.

Mexico’s Defense Ministry said the soldiers opened fire after the pickup, carrying a total of 33 migrants, tried to evade a military patrol.

Another 10 migrants were injured in the incident, the agency said.

The event also shines a renewed spotlight on the growing security crisis in the southern Mexican region near the Guatemalan border, where a territorial battle between powerful drug cartels has led to a sharp increase in violence over the past year.

The Defense Ministry said soldiers reported hearing explosions before the officers opened fire. Sheinbaum declined to answer questions about the soldiers’ story, saying only that the investigation was ongoing.

(Reuters)