MADRID, Nov. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Spain arrested more than 28,000 people in domestic violence-related incidents in the first nine months this year, the country's Interior Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

    Despite the tens of thousands arrests, Spain witnessed a drop of 11 percent in the number of women killed in domestic violence in 2005, which was 56, compared to last year's 72, according to the statement.

    The Spanish government has made fighting domestic violence one of its top priorities and the Interior Ministry pledged to assign 1,100 specialized police agents to protect mistreated women by the end of 2005.

    Previous efforts made included specialized courts focusing exclusively on cases of violence against women.

    Amnesty International says 2 million women face domestic violence in Spain, and every four days there is a woman killed by her spouse or ex-spouse. Meanwhile, only 5 percent of victims report such incidents, Amnesty says. Enditem