Migrant arrivals 110% up since end of Mare Nostrum - UNHCR

(ANSA) - Rome, February 18 - Migrant arrivals have risen by 110%, from 3,338 to around 7,000, this year after the end of Italy's Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue operation, UNHCR spokesperson Carlotta Sami tweeted Wednesday. Mare Nostrum was replaced in November by the EU border agency Frontex's smaller and less well-equipped Triton op. Unlike Mare Nostrum, which swept the whole Mediterranean, Triton only ventures 30 nautical miles from coasts.