Gunmen slay Indian activist

MEXICO CITY – Assailants shot dead an Indian activist in Mexico’s conflict-ridden state of Oaxaca, police said Saturday.

It was not clear if the killing was related to months of political violence in which at least nine other people have died.

The bullet-ridden corpse of Raul Marcial Perez was found Friday on a road near the Mixtec Indian community of Agua Fria about 120 miles north of Oaxaca City, state police said in a news release.

He had been shot earlier in the day, it said.

Marcial Perez had been involved in disputes involving two rival Triqui Indian rights groups, but it was not clear if that was related to his slaying.