OFWs told to leave war-torn Tripoli immediately

THE PHILIPPINES HAS ordered the mandatory repatriation of all Filipino workers in Tripoli in Libya following fierce fighting between security and rebel forces.

Some 1,000 Filipinos are believed to be in the capital city, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. who raised the alert level upon the recommendation of the Philippine embassy in Tripoli. The embassy said the current situation on the ground could no longer guarantee the safety and security of Filipinos who chose to remain in the capital.

Two Filipinos were wounded after several hospitals and residential areas had been shelled. Chargé d’Affaires Elmer Cato said the fighting in the outskirts of Tripoli will soon make it difficult for the embassy to respond to urgent requests for assistance from distressed Filipinos.

With the declaration of Alert Level IV, the embassy has now doubled its efforts in persuading Filipinos to go home. The new alert level, which covers only Tripoli and other areas within a 100-kilometer radius from the capital, was raised after a number of Filipinos suddenly found themselves in the middle of fierce fighting since last week. (Joyce Ann Rocamora)

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