‘Eta military chief’ Arriola arrested in France
Baku, March 11 (AZERTAC). The suspected head of armed Basque separatist group Eta has been arrested in northwest France, reports say.
Alejandro Zobaran Arriola was among four Eta suspects held in an operation by French police near the Belgian border, Spanish national radio reports.
Mr. Arriola was described as the group`s "new military chief".
Eta`s campaign for independence for the Basque region has cost more than 800 lives since 1968 but it called a halt to armed attacks last year.
Spanish newspaper El Pais said the arrests took place in Willencourt, west of the city of Arras.
According to AFP, the suspects were arrested late on Thursday in a house where firearms and documents were also seized.
Mr. Arriola - known as "Xarla" - is Eta`s sixth military chief to be detained since Francisco Javier Lopez Pena was arrested in May 2008.
Eta has been coming under increasing pressure to lay down its weapons and, in January this year, announced that it would cease "offensive armed actions".
But Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero rejected the declaration, saying he wanted the group to be completely disbanded.
Spanish authorities believe their campaign against Eta has crippled its operational capacity, with dozens of arrests - including a number of top leaders - made in collaboration with forces in other countries.
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