5. On November 28, 2005, the Commission received the petition dated November 26, 2005, and assigned it number 1351-05. On March 26, 2007, the pertinent parts were transmitted to the State, with the request that it submit its response within two months, in accordance with the provisions of Article 30.2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter the Rules of Procedure). The States response was received on July 13, 2007. 6. The IACHR received additional information from the petitioners on the following dates: June 1, August 29, and October 5, 2007, and April 2, 2008. These communications were duly forwarded to the State. 7. Furthermore, the IACHR received observations from the State on July 13, 2007, January 22, 2008, and September 25, 2008. These communications were duly forwarded to the petitioners. III. POSITION OF THE PARTIES A. The petitioners 8. The petitioners state that Haiti and the Dominican Republic experience constant migration of Haitian workers to the Dominican Republic, due to the difficult living conditions prevalent in Haiti. They add that this migration frequently takes place under extreme conditions, marked by a lack of legal parameters and discriminatory attitudes. More specifically, they contend that what happened to the alleged victims were not isolated incidents, but that they fall within an overall pattern of abuse and discrimination suffered by Haitian citizens at the hands of Dominican state agents, especially along the border between the two countries. 9. In this context, the petitioners allege that a group of twenty-eighty Haitians, most of whom were from the Pilate area in northwestern Haiti, had paid a person to transport them to the city of Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic, for the purpose of working, selling goods, and studying. They allege that on June 17, 2000, they crossed the border between Ouanaminthe (Haiti) and Dajab (Dominican Republic) on the day of the bi-national market, and spent the night near Dajab. In the early morning, they boarded a truck that took them to Santiago de los Caballeros. 10. The petitioners allege that at approximately 3:00 a.m. on June 18, 2000, the truck arrived at the checkpoint located in the town of Botoncillo, municipality of Guayubin, Province of Montecristi, in the Dominican Republic. There the truck was intercepted by four members of the Border Intelligence Operations Department belonging to the Armed Forces (hereinafter the DOIF),3 who were patrolling and inspecting vehicles. They add that the members of the DOIF gave a signal to stop the truck, but the driver of the vehicle was not aware of it and had continued on. They say that as a result, the soldiers began pursuing the truck for 17 kilometers, opening fire indiscriminately on it with official M16 rifles. They say that according to statements by witnesses, the soldiers who were pursuing the truck could see that there were people inside of it. They add that later on, the vehicle overturned on a curve some five kilometers from the town of El Copey, as a result of the death of the driver from bullet wounds. According to the petitioners, the Dominican military forces continued to shoot at the alleged victims, who, terrified, were trying to run away from the place. Thus they argue that this amounted to an extrajudicial execution, at least in the cases of Nadege Dorzema and Pardis Fortilus. 11. The petitioners say that as a result of these acts, and the disproportionate response of the State agents, Jacqueline Maxime, Fritz Alce (Gemilord), Roselene Theremeus, Ilfaudia Dorzema, Mimo Rub de Jes Espinal, Pardis Fortilus and Nadege Dorzema lost their lives, and Joseph Pierre, Selafoi Pierre, Silvie Thermeus, Roland Israel, Rose Marie Dol, JosuMaxime, Michel Florantin, Celicia Petithomme/Estilien, Sonide Nora, Alphonse Oremis, Renaud Timat, and Honorio Winique were wounded, five seriously and others with permanent injuries. 3 The petitioners mention that the DOIF is a specialized corps to combat the smuggling of weapons, vehicles, and drugs across the border, made up of a joint brigade of the Dominican Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, and Navy).l Communication of the petitioners received on November 28, 2005, para. 8 2