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Two journalists rescued after disappearing in attack on aid convoy in Oaxaca, Mexico

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  • April 29, 2010

By Ingrid Bachmann

Journalist Érika Ramírez and photographer David Cilia, both of Contralínea magazine, were rescued late Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports. Cilia suffered two gunshot wounds to the leg.

The journalists were reported missing Tuesday, after a humanitarian aid convoy in which they were traveling was ambushed in the southern state, the Associated Press and AFP report. The caravan was carrying food and medicine to the remote mountain town of San Juan Copala, which is inhabited mostly by Triqui Indians, AP explains.

The ambush killed two members of the six-vehicle convoy: a Finnish human rights activist and a Mexican political activist. Eight other people were reported missing. The Oaxaca state government lamented the incident but denied any responsibility.

International organizations such as Amnesty International and the UN High Commission for Human Rights have condemned the ambush and urged Mexican authorities to investigate the attack in a thorough, impartial way, La Jornada adds. Lawmakers, academics, and nongovernmental organizations have echoed that request,
La Jornada says in a separate story.

See more stories in English and the Spanish version of this post for more details.

Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.