The government undersecretary with the brief for intelligence, Marco Minniti, told a parliamentary committee Wednesday that Italy's now-defunct migrant-search-and-reascue programme Mare Nostrum acted as a deterrent to terrorists wanting to mingle in among the tens of thousands of migrants who land in Italy from North Africa each year. Mare Nostrum, which saved many thousands of lives in the Mediterranean, was terminated last year and replaced the EU-coordinated Triton operation.
Mare Nostrum was blamed by critics in Italy for encouraging the flows of refugees from North Africa and increasing the risk of Islamist terrorist being among them.
"Migrant flows may be a channel for terrorist infiltration, but there are no specific signals that this is taking place," Minniti told a committee on the EU Schengen area.
"When there was Mare Nostrum, this was a deterrent because it was difficult for them to blend in if they have to pass through Navy ships".
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