Alfano says Triton replacing Mare Nostrum rescue plan

(ANSA) - Luxembourg, October 9 - The European Union's Operation Triton will "put an end to Mare Nostrum," Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Thursday.
    "We will not have two lines of defense of our borders," Alfano after a meeting of European interior ministers.
    For the past year Italy alone has operated the Mare Nostrum sea search-and-rescue program for migrants after two boat disasters in October 2013 killed about 400 people.
    Alfano said Triton will be "fully coordinated" with Italy's emergency measures "with a view to their rapid elimination". The Triton mission will be managed by Frontex, Europe's border control agency.