By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA
MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday reported that no Filipino was among the casualties in the recent factional fighting in Tripoli as tensions from the conflict subsided.
In an advisory, the agency reminded Filipinos to refrain from visiting areas in Tripoli that are prone to civil unrest.
“Tensions from the clashes in southern Tripoli have disappeared as the situation in Tripoli has returned to normal,” the DFA advisory read.
“But anywhere when clashes take place, there is always the danger to innocent civilians of getting hit and injured in the crossfire, or becoming victims of indiscriminate shelling,” it added.
The DFA also asked Filipinos in Libya to anticipate skirmishes and to relocate outside the reach of shelling before encounters take place.
Meanwhile, Filipino medical staff in Libya were also advised to be cautious amid the risk of attacks on civilian establishments such as hospitals.
In October last year, a gunman opened fire on the intensive care unit of the Al Jalaa Hospital in Benghazi.
The World Health Organization Libya Office earlier condemned the attack, which damaged the hospital and caused panic among its staff and patients.
During the latest clashes, the DFA said nurses at the ICU of Esbea Hospital reported that a man in gown asked for pain relievers and other anesthetics. The person was later identified as a drug addict posing as a militia man.
Last Wednesday, rival militias known as the Seventh Brigade and a collection of factions called the Tripoli Protection Force engaged in firefights at the Qasir Ben Ghashir district that left 16 people dead and 65 others injured.
