One of the world’s deadliest countries recorded on Thursday as the first day without a single homicide since January 2015

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

El Salvador, one of the world’s deadliest countries, has recorded a rare day without a single homicide.

Central America's rampant violence fuels an invisible refugee crisis Read more

The national civil police commissioner, Howard, Cotto said on Thursday that no murders were reported the previous day in the gang-plagued little Central American country.

The last time the country went a full day without any killings was 22 January 2015, according to records kept by the Associated Press. It also happened once in 2013 and on two days the year before that.

Killings peaked at 104 per 100,000 residents in 2015, the highest rate for any country not in open war that year.

Homicides fell by about 20% last year, but it was still one of the most violent countries with 81.2 murders per 100,000 residents.