The Italian government will launch a naval mission in Libyan waters to fight migrant traffickers.
The plan, decided at a cabinet meeting on Friday, is seen as a potential game-changer in Europe's quest to stop sea migration flows from North Africa.
It was first revealed on Wednesday by Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni after hosting talks with his Libyan counterpart, Fayez al-Serraj.
The new naval mission, which must still be authorised by parliament, would deploy a large vessel and at least five smaller ships to patrol Libyan waters and employ 500 to 1000 military personnel, according to newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The Italian mission will help Libyan authorities "gradually regain control of their territory and borders" and this "is a possible turning point" in the management of the migration crisis, Gentiloni said earlier this week.
According to Corriere della Sera, Italian ships would intercept migrant boats and take people back to the Libyan shore, with written assurances from Libyan authorities about respect for the migrants' human rights.
Libya has been in disarray since the NATO-backed ouster of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011, and lawlessness in the former Italian colony has been a major factor in fuelling the migrant trafficking trade.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), just under 114,000 migrants have landed in southern Europe since the start of the year, and about 82 per cent ended up in Italy. Nearly all of them set sail from Libya.
