The Mexican Ministry of Defense has announced the death of six migrants after soldiers opened fire on a group of 33 migrants who were traveling in a small truck and attempted to flee a military patrol.
A statement from the ministry indicated that ten other migrants were injured in the incident, which occurred on Tuesday evening. The group included individuals of Egyptian, Nepalese, Cuban, Indian, and Pakistani nationalities, although the nationalities of the deceased have not been specified.
The incident took place shortly before 9 pm local time, while the patrol was traveling on a highway near the town of Huixtla, approximately 40 kilometers from Tapachula on the border with Guatemala. Two trucks carrying a number of migrants of various nationalities, including Egyptian, Cuban, Nepalese, Indian, and Pakistani, were en route to the United States via the Mexican border.
The trucks came under fire from Mexican soldiers who mistakenly believed them to be criminal gangs operating in the area. The gunfire resulted in the deaths and injuries of several people on board the trucks.
The ministry stated that the small truck was followed by two other vehicles similar to those used by criminal groups in the region. The soldiers reported hearing explosions before two officers opened fire. Four migrants were killed at the scene, while two others later died in the hospital.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Immigration, and Expatriate Affairs stated on Thursday that it is “following up on the circumstances of the shooting incident in Mexico that resulted in the death of a number of Egyptian citizens.”
Ambassador Tamer Khalifa, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that “Minister Badr Abdel Atty directed the consular sector of the ministry and the Egyptian embassy in Mexico to closely follow the incident and communicate with the Mexican authorities to ascertain the circumstances of the incident.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration extended its deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims.