Prosecutors in Mexico have charged 16 people with murdering 45 villagers in the southern state of Chiapas last Monday.

Two juveniles have also been detained. Charges also include the illegal possession of weapons and assault.

The unidentified suspects were taken to Chiapas Cerro Hueco Penitentiary in Tuxtla.

Meanwhile, the Mexican government has sent extra troops to Chiapas.

The Interior Minister, Emilio Chuayffet, said the reinforcements demonstrated the government's determination to prevent further violence.

But he denied responsibility for the killings, which have been blamed on pro-government paramilitaries.

A candle is laid in memory of a victim

The BBC's Mexico correspondent says Mr Chuayffet is under growing pressure to resign, amid allegations that the Mexican police knew the massacre was taking place but did nothing to intervene.

Federal investigators are pressing top officials to explain why they failed to stop the attack.

One state employee said police blocked him from passing through the area because of gunfire.

The report contradicted state officials' insistence that they did not know about the shooting until hours later.

A newspaper, La Jornada, reported on Friday that witnesses said police tried to cover up the massacre, digging graves to hide the bodies then rushing them off to the state capital for autopsies.

The Attorney General, Jorge Madraza, said that at least two dozen men, all wearing ski masks and blue or black uniforms, had opened fire on the villagers in the Maya community on Monday killing seven men, 20 women and 18 children.

The "immense majority" were shot in the back with high-calibre weapons, added Mr Madrazo.

The massacre shocked people across Mexico, provoking calls for the resignation of the state governor, Julio Cesar Ruiz Ferro.

State governor Julio Cesar Ruiz Ferro

But he is refusing to go, saying the attack was caused by internal ethnic and religious problems.

There is also fresh scepticism about the federal government's efforts to revive peace talks with the Zapatista rebels.

Mr Chuayffet, said on Friday there were good communications between federal and local authorities in Chiapas and denied there was any attempt to cover up the events.
 

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