Thousands of Mexican Indians have fled their homes in the southern state of Chiapas fearing more massacres.

Up to 3,500 people are making their way to the village of Polho, Red Cross workers said, to escape gunmen who dominate their communities.

Emma Paterson reports from Mexico

The same armed gangs are blamed for the slaughter of 45 unarmed villagers in the state last week.

The villagers carried their clothers in coffee bags

Mexican authorities on Saturday charged a village mayor and members of the ruling political party with murder following the massacre.

Jacinto Arias Cruz and 23 supporters of the Revolutionary Institutional Party are accused of supplying the weapons used in the attack.

But the Mexicans escaping from their homes believe paramilitary groups plan fresh bloodshed.

One local asked reporters: "Why should I wait here to be buried?"

"We want to leave," another said. "They have burned homes here, and we are afraid."

The refugees, mainly women and children, made their way in heavy rain, often barefoot and carrying their basic possessions in coffee sacks.

The armed gangs loyal to the national Government emerged in March as a response to the four-year Zapatista campaign in southern Mexico.

The refugees were mainly women and children

The Zapatista National Liberation Army aims to gain land and other rights for Indians in the southern regions of Mexico, historically the land of the Mayas.

In a statement signed by the Zapatista leader, Subcomandante Marcos, the rebels claimed President Ernesto Zedillo and his Government held full responsibility for last Monday's killings.

"It is clear that the crime in Acteal was prepared with the direction of state Government officials and the complicity of various secretariats of the federal Government," the statement said.

Anti-government demonstrators in Mexico City

Such sentiments were also expressed in Mexico City where rallies and rock concerts were held to protest against the massacre.

Thousands of demonstrators marched through the city urging President Zedillo to accept a link between his party and the paramilitaries that carried out the ruthless attack.

The demonstrators carried a funeral wreath with Mexico's flag.
 

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©