3 OFWs arrive from strife-torn South Sudan

Three Filipino workers from strife-torn South Sudan who were rescued by Philippine officials arrived in Manila over the weekend, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

The workers, employed by a petroleum company, arrived on Sunday, bringing to 33 the total number of Filipinos who have returned to the Philippines from South Sudan, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said.

“Their airfare was shouldered by our embassy in Kenya after their employer refused to assist them,” he said, adding all 147 Filipinos in the Central African nation have been accounted for since hostilities broke out in December.

Hernandez said 63 Filipinos continue to remain in South Sudan, 20 have temporarily evacuated to Kenya, 16 are in Uganda, four are in Khartoum, Sudan while 11 are in Dubai.

Fighting among political and military factions have spread across South Sudan – the world’s newest country which separated from Sudan in 2011 after decades of war.

Manila placed South Sudan under crisis alert level 3, which calls for voluntary repatriation of Filipinos.  It also imposed a labor ban and advised Filipinos to defer travel to the country regardless of purpose.

A Philippine Rapid Response Team was also deployed to check on the condition of the Filipino workers who chose to stay behind.

Hernandez said the Philippine Embassy in Kenya, which has jurisdiction over South Sudan, continues to monitor the security situation in the country.

“There are still reports of violence in Unity and Upper Nile states and the overall peace and order situation remains volatile,” Hernandez said. “We are also waiting for developments in the ongoing peace talks between the government and the rebels in Addis Ababa.” — Michaela del Callar/KBK, GMA News

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