Mexican Protesters Burn Local Government Headquarters in Guerrero

As fury over the disappearance of 43 students escalated, hundreds of protesters in Mexico's southern state of Guerrero attacked the local government headquarters, smashing windows and setting fire inside the building, Monday.

"The protesting members of a teachers' union initially tried to get into the state congress in Chilpancingo but were repelled by anti-riot police. They then headed to the state government palace," said Guerrero government spokesperson Jose Villanueva Manzanarez, ABC News reports.

Hundreds of students and teachers, who ransacked the state capital building in Chilpancingo, demanded the return of the missing students who were last seen being bundled into police cars Sept. 26.

The demonstrators are also calling for the resignation of Governor Angel Aguirre and have pledged to "radicalise" their actions in case the investigation doesn't make proper progress.

Thousands of people took to the streets across Mexico in protest. President Enrique Pena Nieto, in an address on the national television in the weekend, vowed to identify and punish the culprits. He further described the incident as "shocking, painful and unacceptable" adding that there will be "no impunity".

The students were from a local teacher training college with a history of left-wing activism. However, it is not clear if they were targeted for their political beliefs, BBC reports.

Even though the protesters demand the 43 students should be returned alive, the discovery of 10 new mass graves has aggravated fears that the graves could contain their bodies.

Forensic teams are testing the DNA of the charred bodies found earlier in mass graves in Iguala to determine if they are of the students.

Mexican authorities have arrested at least 22 police officers and many gang members with regard to the case - which links security forces to organized crime - Voice of America reports.