Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti
said Thursday that the heightened terrorist threat, demonstrated
by Wednesday's attack on tourists in Tunis, is driving an
increase in the Italian military presence in the Mediterranean.
She told the foreign and defence committees of the House
and Senate that means more ships and aircraft on patrol.
"The armed forces are operating with a high intensity...to
protect multiple national interests," said Pinotti.
Monitoring developments in North Africa "must be the first
of our concerns".
An operation dubbed "Safe Seas" includes employment of more
patrol ships, with maritime security teams, fixed and rotary
wing aircraft will be used as well as unmanned reconnaissance
and electronic aerial devices designed to help to protect
military and commercial vessels and communications lines, she
said.
Night-vision equipment will be increased to help military
with its patrols, the minister added.
Pinotti said that "even closer collaboration" is planned
with Tunisia, where the capital city of Tunis was the site of
Wednesday's bloody terrorist attack.
She praised Tunis as "a friendly country severely
threatened by instability and the presence of radical forces,
but which still manages to maintain balance and constitutes an
important partner for us and for stability in the region".
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