French police detain 2 leaders of Basque separatist group ETA
Xinhua, September 22, 2015 Adjust font size:
French police working with the Spanish Civil Guard on Tuesday detained two people thought to be the current leaders of Basque separatist group ETA.
The Spanish Interior Ministry has confirmed that David Pla and Iratxe Sorzabal were detained along with two others in the French town of Saint-Etienne de Baigorry, in the south-west of France.
They are considered to be two of three leaders of the group, whose armed struggle for Basque independence caused over 820 deaths between the 1960s and 2011 when they announced a permanent ceasefire.
Speaking from Brussels, Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said Sorzabal and Pla were "the top leaders and the most wanted" of the organization, adding the operation meant a "death certificate for ETA" and the turning of a "dark page" of Spanish history.
The operation took place after police had watched the house where the arrests were made for several days, confident a meeting of the ETA leadership was about to take place.
The group has not carried out any terrorist activity since announcing its permanent ceasefire in October 2011 during the run-up to the 2011 general elections as its military and logistical structure has been virtually dismantled by security forces in Spain and France. Endit