EU extends anti-migrant smuggler mission, without ships

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 1, 2017 file photo, African migrants who were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea north of the Libyan coast, look out from the deck as the Aquarius vessel of SOS Mediterranee and MSF (Doctors Without Borders) NGOs, approaches the port of Pozzallo on Sicily, Italy. Migrants trying to reach Europe face routine rape and sexual torture throughout their journey _ and especially in Libya _ with men facing abuse nearly as routinely as women, according to a study based on dozens of interviews with aid workers and migrants. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)

BRUSSELS – The European Union has officially extended the mandate of a naval mission hunting migrant smugglers in the Mediterranean — even though it cannot deploy any ships amid a dispute with Italy's anti-migrant government.

EU headquarters said Friday that Operation Sophia, which tackles smugglers, trains the Libyan coastguard and enforces a U.N. arms embargo on Libya, will be extended until Sept. 30.

But European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said Wednesday that without naval assets, the operation can't accomplish its tasks.

Italy commands Sophia but the anti-migrant government refuses to allow its ships to disembark any migrants in Italian ports.