By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora – PNA
MANILA — Filipinos in Tripoli, Libya were cautioned anew over the continued military build up and renewed factional fighting in southern Tripoli that already killed six.
“Filipinos in the Qasir Ben Ghashir, Wadi Al Rabea, Tariq Matar, Esbea and adjoining districts in Tripoli are advised to move to safer areas far from the scene of the clashes,” Chargé d’Affaires Mardomel Melicor said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday night said six dead and 20 injured were reported since the clashes broke in Qasir Ben Ghashir district last Wednesday.
According to reports, the groups involved in the conflict were rival militias in the Libyan capital known as the Seventh Brigade and a collection of factions called Tripoli Protection Force.
Meanwhile, those in other areas of Tripoli are advised to “monitor the situation closely, stay indoors, avoid unnecessary movements, and prepare to move to safer ground should the fighting spill over to their location.”
In the event the situation further escalates, the agency assured to repatriate the more than 1,800 Filipinos still in Tripoli back to the Philippines.
“If you are imperiled know that, as I promised, we will bring you back,” DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. said on his Twitter account Friday.
Crisis alert level III or voluntary repatriation phase is still in place on Libya, DFA Spokesperson Elmer Cato said.
Filipinos who need assistance may call the Embassy’s hotline at +218 91 824 4208.
