Basque militants begin weapons handover

Basque militant group Eta has begun handing over its remaining weapons, ending the last insurgency in Europe, reports BBC.At a ceremony in the southern French city of Bayonne, an inventory of weapons, and their locations, was passed to the judicial authorities.French Interior Minister Matthias Fekl hailed the move as a "major step".Eta killed more than 800 people in some 40 years of violence as it sought to carve out an independent country straddling Spain and France.It declared a ceasefire in 2011 but did not disarm.Fekl said the inventory included eight sites, and a police operation was under way to secure them.
The caches contain 120 firearms, three tonnes of explosives and several thousand rounds of ammunition, according to a spokesman for the group which mediated between Eta and the French authorities.

 

Basque militants begin weapons handover

Basque militant group Eta has begun handing over its remaining weapons, ending the last insurgency in Europe, reports BBC.At a ceremony in the southern French city of Bayonne, an inventory of weapons, and their locations, was passed to the judicial authorities.French Interior Minister Matthias Fekl hailed the move as a major step.Eta killed more than 800 people in some 40 years of violence as it sought to carve out an independent country straddling Spain and France.It declared a ceasefire in 2011 but did not disarm.Fekl said the inventory included eight sites, and a police operation was under way to secure them. The caches contain 120 firearms, three tonnes of explosives and several thousand rounds of ammunition, according to a spokesman for the group which mediated between Eta and the French authorities.