European warships will soon be patrolling the Mediterranean to stop refugees from being illegally transported to Europe.
The EU has been surveying smuggling routes from Libya to Italy and Malta, which so far have led 130,000 migrants to Europe and 2,700 to their deaths this year.
Operation Sophia, set up to catch smugglers, has six vessels: one Italian, one French, one British, one Spanish, and two German ships.
Three other vessels from the UK, Belgium and Slovenia, four aircraft, and 1,318 personnel are expected to arrive near the coast of Libya at the end of October.
Ships under Operation Sophia will begin operations to catch illegal traffickers on Wednesday.
Operation Sophia personnel include sailors who will be able to board, search, seize and divert vessels suspected of being used for smuggling migrants. In the event of an attack by traffickers, a crew can respond by opening fire.
Ships are allowed to pursue suspected smugglers in international seas, but can not follow them into Libyan waters for now.
The EU hopes to eventually be able to operate within Libyan waters but must obtain approval from the UN Security Council or Libya itself.
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