Italy has launched Operation Mare Nostrum, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano announced Monday after a government summit on the immigration emergency. It will be a military and humanitarian operation to boost our surveillance and rescue system on the high seas, and to increase security for human lives, Defense Minister Mario Mauro said. The operation will include the uses of unmanned drones and helicopters with infrared equipment, Mauro added. We will be using an amphibious ship for the first time, the defense minister explained. It has command and control capacities and is equipped with long-range helicopters, a hospital, and ample space for shipwrecked refugees. We will also have at our disposal two Navy patrol boats and two frigates as well as other aircraft.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 06:34:42 +0000