Brussels, 13/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 10 October, Amnesty International expressed its concern following the previous day's announcement by Italian Home Affairs Minister Angelino Alfano that Italy would wind up its Mare Nostrum operation as soon as Frontex launches Triton. Operation Triton in the Mediterranean will not be a carbon copy of Mare Nostrum, which has vessels patrolling as far afield as Libya, and will be principally concerned with surveillance of the EU's external borders, though it will inevitably have to be involved in rescues at sea. The Frontex mandate is unlikely to be amended. Amnesty International said in a press release that the Italian announcement is deeply alarming and it fears further shipwrecks and loss of lives (according to International Organisation for Migration - IOM - estimates, over 3,000 lives have been lost since the start of the year). “One can only question how many lives will be saved by an operation with a border surveillance mandate,” said Nicolas J. Beger director for Amnesty International's European Institutions Office. The European Commission's announcement of the launch of Operation Triton to support Italy's search and rescue efforts was widely seen as the first sign of an EU-wide wake-up call and collective response to the ongoing tragedies in the Central Mediterranean. However, it has become clear that Operation Triton will not meet the real and current search and rescue needs in order to save lives. The NGO urges Italy to continue with its Mare Nostrum efforts until such time as Triton at least matches all that it is doing. (SP)