The Philippine Embassy has assisted six Filipinos to get out of Libya after they sought consular help due to increasing violence in the country.
Chargé d’Affaires Elmer Cato said the Filipinos are now on their way to the Philippines. Cato added that two Rapid Response Teams from the Department of Foreign Affairs are also headed back to Manila, GMA News reported.
Cato said Embassy officials had been unable to reach several nurses who had fled a hospital amid the fighting. More than 40 other nurses and their dependents were evacuated and are now staying with friends and relatives in Tripoli.
“The nurses described the firefights and artillery exchanges as the worse they have seen in the many years they have been in Libya.” Cato said.
Earlier this week, the Department of Foreign Affairs raised the crisis alert level in Libya from Level 3 to Level 4, which calls for all Filipinos to be evacuated from the country.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L Locsin Jr said due to the current situation in Libya, safety could no longer be guaranteed for those Filipinos who choose to remain despite repeated appeals for them to return home.
Two Filipinos were reportedly injured in separate incidents in Tripoli. One man was wounded in the forehead during a rocket attack, while the second Filipino suffered a wound to his right foot when a mortar round exploded near Tripoli International Airport.