THOUSANDS of people took to the streets of Mexico City on Thursday night to mark the fifth-month anniversary of the disappearance of 43 student teachers.

The students were studying at a teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa in the southern state of Guerrero. 

They supposedly died during a night of protests on September 26 after being arrested by police in the nearby town of Iguala and were allegedly handed over to a drug trafficking gang which, according to official government sources, killed them, burned their remains and threw them into a river.

But relatives of the students and activist groups have rejected the government account of the events, noting that only one set of remains from the missing students has been positively identified.

The killings triggered a political crisis for President Enrique Pena in a country where drug-related violence is tragically common and also prompted unprecedented protest marches across the country.

Thursday’s march departed from a central plaza in Mexico City and ended up outside the official residence of President Pena, which was heavily guarded by a squad of riot police.

The march ended with a skirmish between the police and students, five of whom were arrested after police alleged that they hed been wielding sticks and pipes.

Teachers in Acapulco also protested over the missing students.

Clashes between police and teachers have continued throughout the week in rows over teachers’ pay and the students’ disappearance.

More than 80,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2006 and another 20,000 have gone missing.