Government sends troops and armoured vehicles to stop migrants crossing the border from Italy
Austria has moved four armoured vehicles to the Italian border and has 750 soldiers primed to stop migrants from crossing into the country.
With the border already beefed up, government officials have said it is likely to set up controls at the busy Alpine Brenner Pass in the south of the country 'very soon' to tackle the migrant influx.
The planned controls will not be exclusive to the key trade pass, a defence ministry spokesman said - a move that Italy warned last year would break EU rules on free movement.
'I expect border controls will be introduced very soon,' Defence Minister Peter Doskozil said on Tuesday.
Both Italy and Austria are members of the European Union's Schengen open-border zone, but free movement has been jeopardised by the reimposition of controls at many crossings across the bloc since the surge in migrants seen in 2015 and 2016.
There was no immediate comment from Italy or EU officials, but Doskozil's spokesman said there was no concrete timetable for the new controls.
The spokesman added: 'We'll see how the situation in Italy is becoming more acute and we have to be prepared to avoid a situation comparable to summer 2015.'
Italy has taken in more than 80,000 refugees and migrants so far this year, most of whom arrived by boat from Africa, making Italy the main point of entry to Europe.


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