Six migrants are dead after Mexican soldiers opened fire on a fleeing truck near the border with Guatemala, Mexico's Defense Department said Wednesday. The department said in a statement that soldiers claimed they heard shots as the trucks and two other vehicles approached their position late Monday in the southern state of Chiapas, near the town of Huixtla, the AP reports. Two soldiers opened fire on the truck, which was carrying migrants from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India, Pakistan, and at least one other country. Soldiers then approached the truck and found four of the migrants dead, and 12 wounded.
Two of the wounded later died of their injuries. There was no immediate information on the condition of the other 10. The department did not say whether the migrants died as a result of army fire, or whether any weapons were found in the truck. There were 17 other migrants in the truck who were unharmed. The vehicle was carrying a total of 33 migrants. The area is common route for smuggling migrants, who are often packed into crowded freight trucks. The department said the two soldiers who opened fire were relieved of duty pending investigations. One migrant rights activist expressed doubt that the migrants or their smugglers opened fire.
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