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El Salvador violence surges after gang order for bus drivers to strike


    SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Violent gangs in El Salvador ordered bus drivers to strike on Monday in a conflict that has killed six people and left thousands of commuters stranded on the streets of the Central American capital, police and bus company officials said.

    Gangs stepped up violence over the weekend to pressure the government of President Salvador Sanchez Ceren to negotiate with them to ease a crackdown on their operations and secure less harsh conditions for imprisoned members, officials said.

    The government has so far rejected dialogue with the gangs, whose turf wars have helped make El Salvador one of the most violent countries in the Americas.

    Five bus drivers and one other transport worker were found dead Monday, and two buses were torched over the weekend by suspected gang members seeking extortions. The director of the National Civil Police confirmed the deaths.

    "The gangs have threatened to attack, and, in fact, have done so," Howard Cotto, deputy police director, told reporters.

    Media reported that since Sunday private bus service owners have been demanding better security conditions as the violence escalated.

    Raul Mijango, a former congressman with the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) who was instrumental in securing a 2012 gang truce that has since unravelled, called on the gangs to stop forcing the drivers to strike.

    "I want to call on them to stop pushing for the strike, in light of rumours that they've proposed keeping it in place for four days," he told a group of reporters.

    Murders in the country jumped 50 percent to 2,192 in the first five months of the year, compared with the same period last year, with crimes largely blamed on fighting between two rival groups, Mara Salvatrucha and the Barrio 18 gang.

    The surge in violence since 2014 has taken the lives of more than 30 police officers and 11 soldiers.

    From Monday morning, people on the streets of San Salvador, a city of more than 1.5 million, desperately tried to hop on trucks or other alternatives to get to work or school, or trudged long distances by foot.

    One suspect threw a grenade into the parking lot of one of San Salvador's top hotels on Saturday night, prosecutors said.

    Seven soldiers were detained after staging a small demonstration to demand bonuses for the risky job of fighting the gangs, Defense Minister David Munguia said on Monday.

    (Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Writing by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Ken Wills and Clarence Fernandez)