El Salvador Sees Record in Murders

With more than 4K, 2011 worst year since civil war ended
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 27, 2011 3:12 PM CST
El Salvador Sees Record in Murders
A prison officer handcuffs two men convicted of murder in El Salvador on March 9, 2011.   (Getty Images)

Ridden with gang violence, El Salvador saw more murders this year than it has in any year since its civil war ended in 1992, police say. Of the country's 6.1 million people, some 4,308 were murdered in 2011, breaking the 2009 record of 4,223 and marking an increase of 9.3% from last year, AFP reports. Despite a government crackdown, some 12 people are murdered on an average day in a country where some 18,000 people are thought to be gang members. (More El Salvador stories.)

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