EU military operation against migrant traffickers begins

Rome: A military operation to catch migrant traffickers begins Wednesday, with European warships patrolling international waters in the Mediterranean to arrest smugglers dubbed the "mafia of the sea".

The European Union´s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini announced last month that EUNAVFOR MED, an operation launched to dismantle the network of smugglers abetting the migrant boat crisis, was to enter its second phase.

The first phase, which essentially entailed compiling and analysing information on the trafficker networks, has been up and running since June.

Six ships are already in place in international waters off the coast of Libya -- the departure point for many of the migrant boats -- including an Italian aircraft carrier, a French frigate and one British, one Spanish and two German ships.

At least three other vessels supplied by the Belgian, British and Slovenian navies are expected to arrive in the area at the end of October to complete the force, which also include four aircraft and 1,318 personnel.

On board the Werra, one of the German ships taking part, the 100-person strong crew has already carried out several exercises, including a simulation of an attack carried out by traffickers, to which they responded by opening fire.

For this mission, the team includes sailors trained in boarding ships on the high seas, the Werra´s captain Stefan Klatt told AFP.

The EU gave the go-ahead for the operation in international waters in September, but its ships are not, for now, allowed to pursue traffickers into Libyan waters.

"We follow the traffickers and want to arrest them and seize their ships," the captain said, adding that he´ll get as close to Libyan waters as he can.