Four suspected ETA separatists arrested

FOUR suspected members of Basque separatist group ETA were arrested in Portugal and France, including one who was allegedly driving a van loaded with explosives, officials said yesterday.

Two ETA suspects were captured in northern Portugal after one was stopped while driving the van through the northwestern Spanish town of Bermillo de Sayago, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of the border with Portugal, a regional Interior Ministry spokesman told reporters.

Several houses in Bermillo de Sayago, which has a population of 1,000, were evacuated and the area around the van was cordoned off, the ministry spokesman said. No details were given about the quantity of explosives.