The Salvadoran Civil War was a civil war in El Salvador fought between the military-led junta government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) (a coalition or "umbrella organization" of left-wing groups) from 15 October 1979 to 16 January 1992. A coup on October 15, 1979,  was followed by killings of anti-coup protesters by the government and  of anti-disorder protesters by the guerrillas, and is widely seen as the  start of civil war.
The fully-fledged civil war lasted for more than 12 years and  included the deliberate terrorizing and targeting of civilians by  US-trained government death squads including prominent clergy from the Catholic Church, the recruitment of child soldiers and other human rights violations, mostly by the military.