Violent demonstrations mark student massacre anniversary

Violence erupted in the streets of Mexico City on Wednesday (October 02) as scores of Mexicans took to the streets to mark the 45th anniversary of the 1968 massacre of student protesters in Tlatelolco Square.

Protesters hurled rocks and projectiles at riot police, who responded by firing the contents of a fire extinguisher to disperse the angry crowd.

According to Mexico City daily El Universal, at least 40 people were injured in the clashes. Authorities blamed anarchists for infiltrating the march.

The violence marks a bloody anniversary for the Tlatelolco massacre in the capital. In 1968, security forces stormed a student protest in downtown Mexico City, killing at least 30 people, although witnesses and rights activists put the toll as high as 300.

Critics claim then-President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz and his Interior Minister Luis Echeverria ordered troops to attack the students whose persistent protests posed a threat to the inauguration of the 1968 Olympic games