El Salvadoran lawmakers declared a state of emergency, curtailing civil liberties and expanding police power as the country faces a wave of gang-related bloodshed which has left dozens dead in just two days.

Gang violence has soared in El Salvador, with police reporting that 62 people were killed on Saturday alone.

According to official figures, 12 of the killings took place in the central department of La Libertad, with the capital San Salvador and the western department of Ahuachapan recording nine each.

The rest were distributed across the country’s remaining departments.

Aljazeera.