25 more Pinoys repatriated from strife-torn Syria

Twenty-five Filipino workers will arrive from strife-torn Syria on Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as part of the government's mandatory repatriation program.

The batch, which will arrive via Emirates Airlines EK 332 at 3:55 p.m., will bring the total number of repatriated Filipinos from Syria to 5,361. Of these, 2,332 crossed through Lebanon with the help of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut.

Airline fare by the repatriates were provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Damascus, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Refugees from Syria  are pouring into neighboring countries as the conflict within the country intensifies. Some 3 million refugees have fled abroad while 6.5 million remain displaced within the country, half of whom have minimal access to essential services.

Within three years of Syria's civil war, a total of 140,000 out of the country's 23 million people have died.

Kin of Filipino migrants in Syria are asked to contact the Philippine Embassy in Beirut to provide information on their loved one's whereabouts. They may be contacted through 00963-11-6132626, 00963-949155557 and 00963-934957926. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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