The attack against indigenous people in Oaxaca leaves at least seven dead
According to a report, at least seven people were killed in an attack by some 70 armed individuals against indigenous communities in the municipality of San Esteban Atatlahuca, Oaxaca.
At least seven dead and 25 houses burned down in an attack by an armed group on the communities of Ndoyonoyuji, Guerrero Grande, Mier y Terán belonging to the municipality of San Esteban Atatlahuca, Tlaxiaco, denounced the Centro de Derechos Humanos y Asesoría a Pueblos Indígenas (Center for Human Rights and Advice for Indigenous Peoples). While Governor Alejandro Murat Hinojosa is on political tourism in New York, in the Mixtec region an armed group is maintaining a "state of siege" against the inhabitants of these three communities, which has provoked the forced displacement of 25 families who have taken refuge in the city of Tlaxiaco.
The armed attack began on Thursday night, October 21, 2021, when 25 houses were burned in the community of Ndoyonuyuji and Remigio Gregorio Reyes García, 69 years old, and Rafaela Quiroz Sandoval, 66 years old, parents of the municipal authority, were murdered. The violence continued this Saturday, October 23, 2021, when an armed group of approximately 70 people attacked with high caliber weapons in the community of Guerrero Grande and Mier y Terán where they killed Marcos Barrio Avendaño, 80 years old; Marcos Quiroz Reaño, 65 years old; Tomas García Barrios, 41 years old; Paulina Sandoval Bautista, 95 years old and Teodoro Velasco Sandoval, 95 years old.
In the attack, three people were killed with firearms and the elderly Paulina Sandoval Bautista and Teodoro Velasco Sandoval lost their lives when they were inside their home, which was burned by the armed group. It was not until this Sunday that the Murat Hinojosa government issued a communiqué informing that a security table had just been established to coordinate the entrance to these communities.
"Derived from the violent events that occurred last October 21 in the community Ndoyonuyuji and on October 23 in the agencies Mier y Terán, and Guerrero Grande belonging to the municipality San Esteban Atatlahuca, the State and Federal government, installed the security table to coordinate the entry of security elements in the area."
The objective is for the Secretary of Public Security of Oaxaca (SSPO) and the National Guard to implement a security operation in the conflict zone, to safeguard the integrity of the inhabitants. The president of CEDHAPI, Maurilio Santiago Reyes, requested that the Mexican State act urgently in light of the state of siege that an armed group maintains against the inhabitants of these communities. For the time being, he said that up to now 25 families have taken refuge in the INPI facilities in the city of Tlaxiaco, as displaced persons.
In addition, it is known that approximately 30 people, including women and children, are taking refuge in the church of the community of Mier y Terán, their lives being at risk since the gunfire continues and a massacre could take place. For this reason, they demanded the immediate entry of the public security forces to rescue these people because on Saturday evening it was learned that two pickup trucks with armed people are heading to the community of Mier y Terán.
For its part, the Human Rights Ombudsman of the People of Oaxaca (DDHPO) demanded that state and federal authorities intervene in the locality to stop the aggressions that are causing displacement of people within the community. He mentioned that on October 21, a series of acts of violence against the inhabitants of Ndoyonoyuxi left at least two people dead, houses burned and some twenty people disappeared, including children.
For this reason, the Ombudsman's Office sent a team of defenders to the site, in addition to issuing precautionary measures to request the Oaxaca State Attorney General's Office to carry out the corresponding investigations into the murders and to implement the protocol for the search of persons. In the same way, the Ombudsman's Office requested the Secretary of Public Security and the National Guard to carry out patrols in the vicinity of the town to guarantee the wellbeing of the inhabitants.
It also demanded the need to create a register of people in a situation of forced internal displacement that would allow the problem to be measured, since this phenomenon has been taking place in the state for several years, however, Oaxaca lacks statistics and official figures on internally displaced persons, which makes it difficult to attend to them.
