Operation Mare Nostrum

The head of EU border agency Frontex on Feb. 27 criticized charities that rescue migrants off Libya, arguing that they encourage the traffickers who profit from the dangerous Mediterranean crossings.

“Europe is facing an unprecedented migratory crisis and Italy is at the frontline. But Italy cannot manage this alone. We have to work all together to develop and implement European solutions.” stated Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos at the Constitutional Affairs and European Affairs Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate of the Italian Parliament

The corpses of 17 migrants were brought ashore in Sicily aboard an Italian naval vessel on May 31 along with 454 survivors as efforts intensified to rescue people fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. 

More than 3,400 migrants were rescued at sea May 2, mainly off Libya, as Europe seeks ways to deal with the flood of people trying to reach its shores following a series of deadly shipwrecks.

Italy pleaded for more help April 16 to rescue migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean, and demanded a "clear answer" from the European Union about where the refugees should be sent.
      

Around 400 migrants are feared dead after their boat capsized off the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Italian coast guard rescued 144 people from the boat on Monday and initiated an air and sea operation with the hope of finding other survivors.

The European Commission is stepping up its assistance to Italy to deal with the current high migratory pressures in Lampedusa. A number of important measures have been pledged.

More than 200 migrants died after their boats sank as they were attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy.

The two boats involved in the latest tragedy had departed from Libya on Saturday, carrying more than 100 passengers each, the BBC reports.

People traffickers have been recently using a new route to smuggle migrants from the Middle East into Europe, herding them onto cargo ships sailing from Turkey to Italy, euobserver.com reported.

The EU vowed Jan. 2 to fight people smugglers' new tactic of abandoning "ghost ships" full of migrants off European coasts.