Mexico's southern state of Guerrero has reported its first major political casualty Thursday as Guerrero Gov. Angel Aguirre quit after the case of 43 missing student-teachers remain unanswered.

After failing to deliver a "favorable" solution to the said crisis, Guerrero Gov. Aguirre decided to quit his job as leader of the embattled state amidst the search for students of a left-wing teachers' college who went missing on September 26 after a clash with local law enforcers in Iguala.

Like Us on Facebook

Aguirre faced numerous criticisms and was called to step down from his position after he repeatedly assured citizens of Guerrero that he had been working "tirelessly" to locate the missing student-teachers to no avail.

"In this tragic setting, I refuse to allow the public debate to centre on whether the governor stays in his position or not," Aguirre said as he announced his resignation. "The priority must be to continue with the search for the missing students and to ensure that the people responsible for these serious violations of human rights be punished."

Last month, a group of students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Normal School organized a demonstration in Iguala to protest what they deemed were unfair hiring practices while the mayor and his wife were holding an event.

Several witnesses recounted seeing some of the students being bundled inside police cars by local police officers who had allegedly been ordered by Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca and his wife, María de los Ángeles Pineda Villa.

A warrant for the arrest of Abarca and his spouse, together with the city's chief of police have been released this week as Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam revealed the police and politicians' deep ties with local gangs.

Upon being deemed as suspected masterminds for the mass abduction, all three officials disappeared and have yet to be delivered to justice.

TagsMexico, missing students, Angel Aguirre, Guerrero student-teachers, Jose Luis Abarca, María de los Ángeles Pineda Villa