El Salvador: Gangs Drive Surge in Murders, Police Say

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/world/americas/el-salvador-gangs-drive-surge-in-murders-police-say.html

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Last month, El Salvador recorded the highest number of murders since its 12-year-long civil war ended in 1992 as violence between street gangs grew more deadly. The National Forensics Institute said Wednesday that there were 911 homicides in August, making it the deadliest month in nearly a quarter of a century. From January to August, El Salvador recorded 4,246 homicides, an average of 17.5 a day, and up 67 percent over the same eight-month period in 2014. Violence has risen steadily in El Salvador since a 2012 truce between the country’s main gangs fell apart last year. The police estimate that 80 percent of the homicides are related to gang purges and the settling of scores.