Violence fueled mainly by street gangs left 907 people dead in El Salvador last month, a level of bloodshed unseen since the civil war of the 1980s, authorities said Tuesday.
Through the end of August, the impoverished Central American country has suffered 4,232 killings, compared to 2,533 in the same period last year. The daily average is 18, compared to 17 during the 1980-1992 war, said National Police chief Mauricio Ramirez.
He attributed the high August number to an increase in clashes pitting street gangs against security forces, as opposed to rival gangs fighting each other.
"These are worrisome figures. This past month of August has been the worst in terms of deaths," Ramirez said.
Of the total fatalities, 47 were police officers and 16 were soldiers, many of them attacked while off duty.
El Salvador is believed to have some 72,000 gang members, 13,000 of whom are behind bars.
President Salvador Sanchez Ceren is taking the gangs head on, bringing in 7,000 army troops to help the police carry out patrols.
The government is preparing a law on rehabilitating gang members and re-integrating them into everyday society.
A poll published Tuesday in the newspaper La Prensa Grafica found that 66 percent of those surveyed believe the president is failing to resolve the country's public safety problems.
Violence fueled mainly by street gangs left 907 people dead in El Salvador last month, a level of bloodshed unseen since the civil war of the 1980s, authorities said Tuesday.
Through the end of August, the impoverished Central American country has suffered 4,232 killings, compared to 2,533 in the same period last year. The daily average is 18, compared to 17 during the 1980-1992 war, said National Police chief Mauricio Ramirez.
He attributed the high August number to an increase in clashes pitting street gangs against security forces, as opposed to rival gangs fighting each other.
“These are worrisome figures. This past month of August has been the worst in terms of deaths,” Ramirez said.
Of the total fatalities, 47 were police officers and 16 were soldiers, many of them attacked while off duty.
El Salvador is believed to have some 72,000 gang members, 13,000 of whom are behind bars.
President Salvador Sanchez Ceren is taking the gangs head on, bringing in 7,000 army troops to help the police carry out patrols.
The government is preparing a law on rehabilitating gang members and re-integrating them into everyday society.
A poll published Tuesday in the newspaper La Prensa Grafica found that 66 percent of those surveyed believe the president is failing to resolve the country’s public safety problems.
