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Protests Over Disappeared Mexican Students Intensify

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Masked demonstrators set fire to the door of Mexico City’s ceremonial presidential palace while protesting the Mexican government’s announcement that the 43 college students missing since September were killed by a drug gang and burned in a pyre of branches and tires.

The demonstrations were largely peaceful until the end, when a number of protestors broke away and tore down the fences around the palace and set its door on fire, The Guardian reports. Riot police clashed with demonstrators before clearing the scene.

Anger over the disappearance of the students, who are believed to have been turned over to the drug gang Guerreros Unidos following an attack by corrupt police offers, has been directed toward the government and its handling of the case since it took over the investigation from state officials after 10 days.

Attendees chanted “It was the state” to protest the apparent internal corruption within the government that surrounds the case; the mayor of Iguala, where the students went missing, has allegedly had ties to the drug gang since he first took office.

Many are calling for President Enrique Peña Nieto and Attorney General Jesús Murillo Karam to resign.

[The Guardian]

See Mexico's Protests Over the Murder of 43 Students

Protesters set fire to the wooden door of Mexican President Pena Nieto's ceremonial palace in Mexico City
A group of protesters set fire to the wooden door of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's ceremonial palace, during a protest in Mexico City, November 8, 2014.Edgard Garrido—Reuters
MEXICO-CRIME-STUDENTS-PROTEST
Burning cars are seen during a protest outside the State Government headquarters in Chilpancingo, Mexico on November 8, 2014.Ronaldo Schemidt—AFP/Getty Images
Protesters yell slogans while gathering outside Mexican  Protesters yell slogans while gathering outside Mexican President Pena Nieto's ceremonial palace during a protest denouncing the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers, in Mexico City
Protesters yell slogans while gathering outside Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's ceremonial palace during a protest in Mexico City on November 8, 2014. Edgard Garrido—Reuters
Demonstrator whose face is covered with a picture of a missing student gestures during a protest in support of the missing Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College Raul Isidro Burgos students at Zocalo square in Mexico City
A demonstrator protests at Zocalo square in Mexico City November 8, 2014. Edgard Garrido—Reuters
Demonstrators lie on the floor during a protest in support of the missing Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College Raul Isidro Burgos students at Zocalo square in Mexico City
Demonstrators lie on the floor during a protest at Zocalo square in Mexico City November 8, 2014.Edgard Garrido—Reuters
MEXICO-CRIME-STUDENTS-PROTEST
Students from the Ayotzinapa school take part in a protest outside the State Government headquarters in Chilpancingo, Mexico, on November 8, 2014.Ronaldo Schemidt—AFP/Getty Images
A person in a disguise sits on a sidewalk holding a candle during a protest denouncing the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers in Mexico City
A person in a disguise sits on a sidewalk holding a candle during a protest in Mexico City on November 8, 2014.Edgard Garrido—Reuters

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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com