THE special prosecutor leading the Attorney General’s Office investigation into the abduction and disappearances of 43 students in southern Mexico in 2014 resigned on Tuesday, raising concerns among the students' families and their advocates.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (Amlo) said Omar Gomez Trejo, who had led the investigation since 2019, resigned over disagreements about procedures determining who should be arrested.

The announcement came one day after the families of the missing students marched on the eighth anniversary of their disappearances and at a time when revelations by a government Truth Commission have implicated the military.

Mr Gomez Trejo had gained the trust of the families, but there had been indications of divisions within the Attorney General's Office.

The day before his resignation was made public, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights noted in a statement that his unit since August had lacked police assistance needed to collect evidence as well as personnel to formalise new charges and keep up with court proceedings.

The body expressed concern and called for the special prosecutor's independence to be protected.

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The Attorney General’s Office has come under fire for cancelling some 21 arrest orders for suspects — including 16 members of the military — without explanation and for sensitive portions of a Truth Commission report being leaked to the press.

That followed some advances in the case, including the arrest of former Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam and of the army officer who commanded the base in Iguala, Guerrero state, at the time the students disappeared. He is now a retired general.

On Tuesday, attorneys representing members of the military in custody said they were investigating pursuing legal action against the head of the Truth Commission, Alejandro Encinas, who had said the former commander ordered the killing of some of the students days after their abduction.

At his daily news conference on Tuesday, Amlo alluded to there being “differences,” but added that all points of view are respected. He said Mr Gomez Trejo “didn’t agree with the procedures that were followed to approve the arrest orders,” but did not elaborate.