Roundup: EU naval mission against migrant smugglers enters second phase in Mediterranean

The EU's naval anti-smuggling mission entered its second phase in the southern Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday.

Six military ships were deployed in international waters some 19 km off Libya to enforce search and seize operations against migrant smugglers within the EU's Sophia mission, formerly known as EUNavfor Med.

The mission includes Italian Cavour aircraft carrier acting as flagship, three frigates from France, Spain and Britain respectively, and two German vessels, information officer with Operation Commander Rear Admiral Enrico Credentino told Xinhua.

Three ships from Belgium, Britain and Slovenia were expected to join the mission's forces by the end of October, the officer added.

Overall, the mission would count on some 1,300 military personnel.

The EU vessels would patrol the southern Mediterranean off the coasts of Libya, which is considered a main hotspot for smugglers of asylum seekers and migrants in the so-called central Mediterranean route towards Europe.

The EUNafvor Med mission had been launched on June 22 in order to "break the business model of smugglers and traffickers of people in the Mediterranean," according to an EU Council statement.

Its first phase focused on surveillance and rescue operations in order to both gather information on the smugglers' activities and try to save the thousands of people crossing the Mediterranean on board of unsafe craft.

Some 564,031 refugees and migrants have made the perilous journey so far this year, according to International Organization of Migration (IOM) latest data.

At least 2,987 of them have died.

With respect to Italy, over 133,400 people have arrived by sea up to October, and 2,703 were believed to have drowned.

In its second phase, the Sophia mission will now include "board, search, size and divert of vessels suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking," the EU Council said at the end of September.

Deployed forces also comprised three aircraft from France, Luxembourg, and Spain contributing in surveillance and reconnaissance operations, and as back up to naval units in boarding and sizing activities, Credentino said.

The EU has foreseen a possible third phase to target smugglers also in Libyan waters, but such step would need the approval of Libyan authorities and the United Nations Security Council.

Operations will be under Italian command of Italian Rear Admiral Credentino until July 2016.

The EUNavfor Med mission was renamed "Sophia" in honor of a Somali baby born on board a German ship who was saved from a migrant boat in August. Endit