Basque group ETA disbands after 50 years

Madrid   : Basque separatist group ETA on Wednesday formally announced its decision to put an end to its activities and a "complete dissolution of all its structures" in a letter sent to various Basque institutions and civil society groups.

In a written statement by the ETA, accessed by Efe news, the group said it was "terminating its historical cycle and its function, thereby ending its existence". 

Eta, deemed a terrorist organisation by the EU, killed more than 800 people between 1968 and 2010, the year before it announced a permanent ceasefire. In April 2017, it staged a disarmament ceremony in the south of France.

Earlier in April, the group had apologized to the victims of its decades-long conflict for independence.

The group asked for "forgiveness" for killing people without "a direct participation in the conflict". Spain's government said ETA was defeated politically and operationally and did not achieve any of its goals.