Basque militant group ETA says they have disarmed
Following Spain's return to democracy in the 1970s, the Basque region gained more autonomy and the group's continued bombings and assassinations caused public support to wane.
![A woman walks in front of a wall painted with a Basque flag on a house in the center of Bayonne, southwestern France, April 7, 2017. Words read: "The People want to live."](https://cdn-i.pr.trt.com.tr/trtworld/w664/h374/q70/0m_6203-trtworld-331975-369459.jpg "A woman walks in front of a wall painted with a Basque flag on a house in the center of Bayonne, southwestern France, April 7, 2017. Words read: "The People want to live."")
A woman walks in front of a wall painted with a Basque flag on a house in the center of Bayonne, southwestern France, April 7, 2017. Words read: "The People want to live."
A separatist group in Spain is formalising the end of armed struggle against the Spanish government after more than 50 years.
ETA began its fight for Basque independence in the 1960s. It stopped attacks in Spain and France six years ago - but now an official hand over of weapons has brought an official end to their struggle.
The orchestrated weapons hand over in the French city of Bayonne will not dissolve the group, which declared a ceasefire in 2011 after killing more than 850 people during a campaign for an independent state in northern Spain and southwestern France.
TRT World's Europe correspondent Francis Collings reports from Spain.
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