Mass graves have been discovered by authorities in the southern part of the Mexican state of Guerrero. Although no official announcement with respect to the actual number of corpses found had been provided, investigators allegedly located scorched remains of roughly 20 people in the area.

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The discovery was made during the search for the four missing students who reportedly disappeared following a violent attack.

A local official, who agreed to disclose information but refused to reveal his identity, shared that the remains discovered were found concealed on a hillside on top of a gravelly dirt road. This part is located on the borders of Iguala. Moreover, the six purported graves appeared to still be fresh.

Officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the charred remains were placed inside bags. However, these are yet to be identified.

In a statement from Guerrero Attorney General Inaky Blanco on Saturday, the discovered remains will be transported to a lab for forensic examination. This procedure will resolve whether the bodies found belong to the students who went missing earlier.

"In the next few hours we will determine the cause of death and the number of bodies," announced the spokesperson for Blanco.

Following the macabre discovery, which occurred before midday, local and state police officers barricaded the location of what appeared to be a burial ground. In a matter of hours, the site was highly secured.

Iguala had been struggling with violent clashes involving the police, some armed men, and students last week. The aggressive encounters reportedly resulted in the death of at least six people.

The search for the four missing students began when pictures surfaced showing that police officers seized them during an attack.

The allegation was bolstered with the confirmation from a police officer on Saturday, who revealed that a video footage was found showing roughly eight to ten students placed on police trucks.

On Sunday, 22 police officers had been detained in Guerrero for the death of two students last week.

In accordance with the statement made by Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre on Saturday, 30 people had been taken in custody due to the violent clashes.

Among the 57 people reported missing, 13 had already been found. Some of them hid from authorities and their enemies while others simply went back to their homes. However, several remain unaccounted for.

TagsMexico, Iguala, violence, police aggression, police brutality, Guerrero