next Image 1 of 2

prev Image 2 of 2

The disbanding of ETA, the Basque militant group that stained Spain's return to democracy with blood, arrived as bittersweet news the families of the more than 850 people the group killed in its thwarted six-decade campaign for a Basque-ruled state.

The disappearance of the militants' threat has laid bare some of the scars in the Basque region, where ETA also received much support.

Its end shifts the focus to the challenges ahead, from reparations and justice for unresolved crimes demanded by survivors and victims' relatives on all sides, to the future of nearly 300 imprisoned militants.

An online call for "an end of ETA without impunity" has already enlisted more than 50,000 signatures.