NINE HUNDRED kilogrammes of explosives have been uncovered in France by police in the joint Franco-Spanish anti-terrorist operations which began one week ago with the arrest in the French Alps of three senior Eta suspects.
Aitxol Etxaburu, Alberto Machain and Antoni Sarasola, all on most-wanted lists in Spain, are alleged to have been controlling Eta’s logistics and military operations when detained in an apartment in the Alpine ski resort of Le Corbier on August 19th.
Spanish interior minister Alfredo Perez Rublacaba said the three were responsible for supplying arms, ammunition and explosives for terrorist attacks. He confirmed a large quantity of files and information on the group had been seized from the apartment.
Within hours of the arrests the intelligence bore fruit when police began a series of raids across France, many of them hundreds of miles from Le Corbier. So far they have found 12 separate arms caches, mostly in the vicinity of the Franco-Spanish border and near to possible targets in Spain.
This Monday they uncovered 209kg of explosives and 147 sets of false car registration plates hidden in three separate caches in woods near Montpelier, and yesterday they found another two stores containing 190kg of explosives, 124 detonators, an Uzi sub-machine gun, two pistols and ammunition as well as bags containing computer files, two scanners and 50 metres of fuse cord.
Almost a tonne of explosives have been seized in the past week in total. Many of the hiding places contained primed bombs, several being similar to the one which killed two Civil Guards in Palma de Mallorca earlier this month and to three others which exploded days later in nearby tourist spots, causing damage but no injuries.
Some of the devices had timers which would allow perpetrators time to escape before blasts. Other bombs were limpet devices, ready to be set underneath vehicles.
Pressure against Eta has been stepped up inside the Basque country since the Socialist party took over the autonomous government of the region earlier this year. The autonomous Ertzaintza police force has clamped down by refusing permission for separatist demonstrations, and has detained hundreds of Eta sympathisers or those carrying out acts of “kale borroka” (street violence).
This week the regional government sought to increase the pressure by asking people to boycott bars, restaurants, clubs and other businesses which display pro-Eta propaganda and photographs of Eta militants in Spanish jails.