27 Pinoys repatriated from Syria in time for New Year

At least 27 Filipinos, one of them a minor, were repatriated from strife-torn Syria in time for the New Year, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

The DFA said the Philippine embassies in Damascus and Beirut worked with the International Organization for Migration to bring the Filipinos home last Dec. 27.

“The group arrived in Manila on December 28, 2013. Their arrival brought the number of Filipinos repatriated from Syria to 5,116. Of that number, 2,091 were repatriated via Lebanon,” the DFA said in a news release.

It said the IOM provided the airfare, land transportation and meals of the latest batch of repatriates.

Philippine embassy Vice Consul Dennis John Briones and Philippine Overseas Labor Office driver William Marvida helped the group at the Masna’a border last Dec. 26.

Briones received the 27 Filipinos from the team from the Embassy in Damascus, then escorted them to the embassy in Beirut where they stayed overnight.

Another embassy team composed of Vice Consul Rona Beth Goce and Information Officer Edwin Batallones brought the repatriates to the Rafik Hariri International Airport for their flight from Beirut to Manila.

An estimated 126,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict in Syria, which began after President Bashar al-Assad launched a brutal crackdown on democracy protests first held in March 2011.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said another half-million people have been wounded, millions displaced and tens of thousands detained. — KBK, GMA News

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