Madrid (AFP) - Spain's Supreme Court confirmed 535-year prison sentences for two ETA militants, it said Wednesday, just weeks before the Basque separatist group is expected to announce its dissolution after decades of violence. ETA killed more than 800 people including police, politicians and entrepreneurs before giving up its armed campaign for Basque independence in 2011 and getting rid of its arsenal one year ago. The militants killed more than 800 people and wounded thousands more over 40 years of conflict as they sought to establish an independent Basque state in the area spreading across northern Spain and into south-western France. The Basque regional broadcaster ETB reported late on Wednesday that ETA will announce that step on the first weekend of May. ETB said that an event to mark the end of ETA will be held in southern France before the final announcement by the group.
The Basque separatist terrorist group ETA apologises to "every victim" of its actions. The ETA killed more than 800 people in its 40-year history, committing terrorists attacks throughout Spain.