Over the weekend, the Italian Navy picked up nearly 4,000 migrants trying to reach Italian shores from North Africa.
The Italian Navy uses helicopters, patrol boats and frigates in its Mare Nostrum operation, which was launched last October after 360 migrants drowned off the coasts of Sicily, and is reported to cost $12.5 million per month.
The purpose of the operation is to rescue would-be refugees while arresting human traffickers.
Refugees travelling to Italy by boat continue to increase. The refugees come from Syria, Iraq and the Middle East, in addition to North African nations, and are often fleeing conflict areas.
In 2014, so far nearly 110,000 would-be refugees have been rescued, according to the UN’s refugee agency, but nearly 2,000 migrants have died making the journey.
Many of the human traffickers’ boats are launched from Libya, where an ongoing civil war continues to rage between Islamist forces and their opponents.
Mare Nostrum is being considered for expansion to an international level.
By Sid Douglas.