ROME: Three boats carrying more than 700 asylum-seekers — some of whom were Syrian refugees — landed in Italy on Wednesday, the Coastguard said.

The new arrivals reflected a sharp increase in boats landing with people fleeing conflict-torn parts of the Mediterranean region and the Horn of Africa.

Two of the boats arrived on the island of Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost point and a major gateway for undocumented migration into the European Union.

The first boat had 398 Syrians on board, the second had 111 whose nationality was yet to be determined.

The latest arrivals have caused severe overcrowding in the temporary migrant centre on the tiny island, which can only house 350 people and was already too full.

A third boat, which was spotted by a patrol plane on Tuesday, arrived in the port of Syracuse in Sicily with around 200 people on board, including 70 children.

The UN refugee agency earlier this month said that at more than 20,000, the number of asylum-seekers arriving in Italy was already around triple the whole of 2012, with most coming from Eritrea, Somalia and Syria.

A 22-year-old Syrian woman was found dead on a boat that arrived on Saturday with 339 people on board. Her funeral was held in Sicily on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry outlined a six-point framework under which Syria must hand over a full list of its stockpile within a week.

If Syria fails to comply, the deal could be enforced by a UN resolution backed by the threat of sanctions or military force.

The US says the Syrian regime killed hundreds in a gas attack last month.

The government of Bashar al-Assad denies the allegations and has accused the rebels of carrying out the attack on 21 August.

In a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Mr Kerry called on the Assad government to live up to its public commitments.

"There can be no room for games. Or anything less than full compliance by the Assad regime," he said.

Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov said if Syria failed to comply, then a UN resolution would be sought under Chapter VII of the UN charter, which allows for the use of force.

Mr Kerry said inspectors must be on the ground by November, and that the stockpiles should be removed or destroyed by mid-2014.

The six points outlined by Mr Kerry were:

France, which was the only country willing to join the US in taking military action in Syria, welcomed the agreement.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said it was an "important advance".

However, the military leader of the anti-Assad Free Syrian Army rejected the deal and promised to continue fighting.

"There is nothing in this agreement that concerns us," said Gen Salim Idriss, describing it as a Russian initiative designed to gain time for the Syrian government.

Mr Kerry said he hoped the deal would help kick-start a wider peace process.

"We could also lay the groundwork for further co-operation that is essential to end the bloodshed that has consumed Syria for more than two years," he said.

"What we agreed on here today could conceivable be the first critical concrete step in that direction."

Mr Lavrov suggested there could be another international peace conference on Syria by October.

"The main thing is to make sure that all Syrian sides are represented at the conference," he said.

Over the years there have been several conferences, some of which have included the Syrian opposition and excluded the government.

More than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against President Assad began in 2011.

Millions of Syrians have fled the country, and millions more have been left homeless by the fighting.