15 Pinoys to return home from Libya: DFA

MANILA—Fifteen Filipinos are set to return home from Libya on Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

The repatriates, among them 5 minors and two Islamic scholars, are on their way to Tunis where they will board a connecting flight to Manila via Dubai, the DFA said in a statement.

Some 70 Filipinos have been repatriated from conflict-stricken Tripoli since fighting broke out between the eastern Libyan National Army and government forces last month.

The DFA has raised Alert Level 4 in Libya, which calls for a mandatory evacuation of Filipinos.

The Philippine Embassy in Tripoli reiterated its call for some 1,000 Filipinos there to come home, as persistent firefighting puts them at risk.

"The embassy also appealed to their families in the Philippines to convince them to accept the offer or to at least move themselves to safer ground," the DFA said.

The embassy said it has lost contact with 14 Filipinos working for Al Nahr Co. who insisted on staying in their compound after it was occupied by armed men.

It also expressed concern for the safety of 18 Filipino nurses from the Al Afia Clinic that was struck by mortar rounds last month.

Elmer Cato, the country's diplomatic representative to Libya, advised Filipinos in areas experiencing intense conflict to relocate.

• As ‘intense fighting’ rages in Libya, DFA pleads for Pinoys to relocate