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France arrests two ETA suspects
TOULOUSE, France -- Two suspected members of the armed Basque separatist group ETA have been arrested in southwest France. Anti-terror police from Paris joined local gendarmes to make the arrests in a raid on a rented house in Bagneres de Luchon, just inside France's border with Spain, police said. The suspected ETA members had automatic weapons but did not use them as officers burst into the house, police told Reuters. ETA wants an independent Basque homeland in a region that spans northern Spain and southwestern France, although its bombing and shooting attacks are confined to Spanish territory. In its 30-year campaign, ETA has been blamed for the deaths of more than 800 people including politicians, police and civilians.
Earlier this week, Spain announced the arrest of two senior ETA members, Juan Antonio Olarra Guridi and Ainhoa Mugica, in southern France. Olarra, 35, and Mugica, 32, were responsible for ordering, planning and selecting ETA targets, Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes said. Their arrests were a major blow to the armed group, which has been labelled a terrorist organisation by both the European Union and United States, authorities said. In Spain, the Batasuna party, which also seeks independence for the Basque region, has been targeted in recent weeks as well. Batasuna has been suspended from political activity for three years, and moves are under way to make the suspension permanent. Madrid says the party is ETA's political wing, an accusation Batasuna denies. Party offices across the Basque region have been closed as part of the campaign to outlaw Batasuna, which came after it refused to condemn an ETA bombing in which a child was killed.
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