Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti
said Thursday that Italy is lobbying hard at the United Nations
Security Council for approval of measures to destroy boats used
by migrant traffickers.
"Italy is doing diplomatic work at the UN Security Council
to reach a resolution which permits military intervention,"
against human traffickers in Libyan waters as agreed to by the
European Union.
Those measures would permit military forces to try to halt
people smugglers by destroying the boats they used to ferry
migrants, usually from Libya's northern coast, across the
Mediterranean to Europe.
The voyages are very dangerous and thousands of deaths have
been reported.
Pinotti said that early stages of work involve collecting
information about the traffickers.
She added that officials want everything ready for a
European leaders' summit in late June.
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