The United Nations has warned El Salvador over the curfew it imposed a year ago to fight gangs or "maras".

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said yesterday that several measures raise "serious concerns".

The agency says it "understands the serious challenges posed to El Salvador by gang violence" and "the duty of the state to ensure the security of its citizens".

However, said Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for the office, "the state also has an obligation to comply with international human rights law".

She pointed out that "during the last year, at least 65,000 people have been detained".

"Some of the mass arrests, which have included children, may amount to arbitrary detention," she denounced.

It is because these detentions, he continued, "appear to be based on unsubstantiated investigations and crude profiling of physical appearance or social background".

In its report, the UN agency also expressed concern about the detention conditions of the thousands of detainees.

"It is of particular concern that 90 people have died in custody since the regime came into effect," Hurtado also said.

At the behest of President Nayib Bukele, the Salvadoran Congress decreed a state of emergency on 27 March 2022, suspending several constitutional guarantees.