Basque group ETA disarmament "major step" to end year-long conflict: French minister

French Interior Minister Mathias Fekl welcomed on Saturday disarmament of the Basque separatist militants ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna - Basque Country and Freedom), which he described as a "major step" to end decades of bloody conflict in Western Europe.

ETA on Saturday unveiled to French authorities a list of eight caches of weapons, explosives and ammunition after it decided the handover of its arms in the French city of Bayonne.

"This stage of neutralizing the arsenal of weapons and explosives is a big step," Fekl said, adding that it was an "undeniably an important day".

A police operation was underway since 9 a.m. on Saturday to locate eight weapons sites out of the twelve disclosed by ETA militants, according to the French minister.

"As localizations are proceeding, security forces are working in real time to secure these sites and neutralize the weapons and explosives that may be discovered there," he said.

Michel Tubiana, one of "The artisans of Peace" and former president of Human Rights League, told the news channel BFMTV, "ETA eight caches contain 120 firearms, 3 tons of explosives and several thousand of ammunition."

Founded in 1959, the Spanish Basque separatist organization ETA announced in October 2011 a ceasefire. But it refused to disarm.

The movement had killed 829 people during its armed struggle for the independence of the Basque Country and Navarre. Endit