Basque separatist group Eta apologises to victims

The Basque separatist group Eta has apologised for the pain and harm that it caused during its 40-year fight for an independent state and appealed for forgiveness from it's victims. Eta asked for "forgiveness" for killing people without "a direct participation in the conflict", the BBC reports. The apology comes as the group is expected to announce its final dissolution early next month, just over a year after it ended its armed separatist campaign by surrendering guns and explosives. The armed group killed over 850 people in five decades of assassinations, kidnappings and extortion. However, Spain's government noted Eta was defeated politically and operationally and did not achieve any of its goals. The armed group waged a bloody campaign for independence for seven regions in Northern Spain and South-west France.