El Salvador sets new grim milestone: 911 homicides make August the country's deadliest month

In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2015 photo, soldiers guard a corner in a gang-controlled neighborhood in Ilopango, El Salvador. Figures released by the country's coroner's office confirm the month of August as the deadliest in the country's history. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (The Associated Press)

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A city employee removes wooden crosses that were placed in a plaza by organizations protesting against the government inaction over the alarming murder rate in San Salvador, El Salvador, Tuesday Sept. 1, 2015. Figures released by the country's coroner's office confirm the month of August as the deadliest in the country's history. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (The Associated Press)

In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2015 photo, a police officer guards a crime scene after a was man killed at the entrance to a vegetable market in San Salvador, El Salvador. Figures released by the country's coroner's office confirm the month of August as the deadliest in the country's history. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez) (The Associated Press)

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – El Salvador has hit yet another grisly milestone: A record murder rate in August.

A national forensics institute which tracks homicides says the Central American nation recorded 911 last month. It's an average of nearly 30 a day.

Institute director Miguel Fortin Magana said Wednesday that August was "without doubt the most violent in El Salvador's history."

On Aug. 23 alone there were 52 murders, making it the bloodiest day of the year.

Terrorized by brutal street gangs, El Salvador is one of the world's deadliest nations.

The country has already surpassed last year's murder total of 3,942, with 4,246 killings in the first eight months of 2015.