Violence breaks out WITHIN the migrant caravan: Fights erupt over food as it's revealed a SECOND caravan is heading for US despite resolute Trump deploying 800 US troops to support Border Patrol
American military equipment has already begun arriving at the southern border ahead of an imminent troop deployment to block the migrant caravan, while in
Mexico tensions have broken out with migrants attacking a local man who was distributing food.
Defense Secretary James Mattis said on Sunday military has already begun delivering jersey barriers to the southern border in conjunction with plans to deploy active duty troops.
The additional troops will provide logistical and other support to the Border Patrol, and will bolster the efforts of the approximately 2,000 National Guard forces already there. The new forces are expected to provide logistical assistance such as air support and equipment, including vehicles and tents.
Aerial view of Honduran migrants heading in a caravan to the US, as they leave Arriaga on their way to San Pedro Tapanatepec, in southern Mexico on Saturday. The caravan now numbers about 4,000
A caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America makes its way to San Pedro Tapanatepec on Saturday
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Mattis said on Sunday that military equipment is already moving to the southern US border. Pictured above are mounted border patrol agents at a newly constructed section of border wall in California on Friday
The tensions of a long trek through searing heat with tenuous supplies of food and other goods spilled over Saturday night when a dispute over a food line evolved into the beating of a man falsely accused of child stealing.
The violence occurred while the town was distributing sandwiches and water to migrants camped in the central square Saturday night, said Raul Medina Melendez, security chief for Tapanatepec.
When a man with a megaphone asked people to wait their turn, some men hurled insults at him. 'Finally people got really angry and those below began to attack the guy,' Medina said.
As the man ran, a false rumor spread that he had grabbed a child for protection and he was caught and beaten. Police rescued him and took him to a hospital for treatment, though his condition wasn't immediately clear.
On Sunday, several in the caravan took to microphones to denounce the attack.
'Is that the way we're going to always behave?' a woman from Honduras asked. 'Anytime there's a rumor everyone is going to run to beat up someone?'
Others complained of a few smoking marijuana or complained that images of litter and uneaten food made them appear disrespectful.
On Saturday, more than a hundred federal police dressed in riot gear blocked a rural highway in southern Mexico shortly before dawn to encourage the migrants to apply for refugee status in Mexico rather than continuing the long, arduous journey north.
Police let the caravan proceed after representatives from Mexico's National Human Rights Commission convinced them that a rural stretch of highway without shade, toilets or water was no place for migrants to entertain an offer of asylum.
Not long after the caravan resumed the trek north Saturday, government officials were seen for the first time directly helping the migrants by giving rides in trucks and providing water along the scorching highway.
Second Caravan: Another group trying to reach the U.S. is seen in Tecun Uman, Guatemala on Sunday, approaching a border gate with Mexico in an attempt to cross into that country
Pentagon begins sending military equipment to border to block caravan | Daily Mail Online