Basque separatist group ETA hands list of weapons caches to authorities

The armed Basque separatist group ETA has formally given the French authorities a list of location of its weapons, ammunition and explosives.

The International Verification Commission, in charge of verifying the process, said "this information was immediately conveyed to the relevant French authorities, who will now secure and collect ETA's arsenal".

The commission said it "believes that this step constitutes the disarmament of ETA".

Inactive for more than five years, ETA had said it would hand over its arms, a historic step following a 43-year campaign of violence that claimed 829 lives, mostly in Spain.

Disarmament is the second-to-last step demanded by France and Spain, which want ETA to formally disband. The organisation has not said whether it would do that.