El Salvador’s Parliament has approved a State Of Emergency after the Central American country recorded dozens of gang-related murders in a single day.

Police said there had been 62 murders on Saturday, making it the most violent 24-hour period since the end of the Civil War in 1992.

New laws restrict the right to gather, allow arrests without a warrant and the monitoring of communications.

Last year, the gang-plagued nation recorded 1,140 murders, a 30-year low.

However, that still equates to 18 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

In November, another spate of violence led to more than 40 people being killed within 3 days.