DFA raises Alert level 4 in Libya


ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 01 2019 10:49 AM
Members of Libyan National Army (LNA) commanded by Khalifa Haftar, get ready before heading out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya. Reuters file photo
MANILA - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has raised the alert level to 4 in Libya following intensive fighting around the capital.
On Twitter, DFA Secretary Teddy Locsin Jr. said he briefed President Rodrigo Duterte about raising the alert level in Tripoli on Tuesday.
"More mortar fire, more Filipino hurt," he tweeted. However, no other details were given about the injured Filipinos.
Locsin said Alert Level 4 calls for a mandatory evacuation of Filipinos there.
"But we cannot compel--and rightly so. What is mandatory is that DFA stays in Tripoli until last OFW goes--& then it stays," he said.
Chargé d’Affaires Elmer Cato has also taken to Twitter to update Filipinos about the situation in Libya.
He tweeted on Tuesday that the ability of the Philippine Embassy to assist Filipinos in distress "becomes more difficult or even impossible to carry out" as fighting gets closer.
"That's why this early we ask our kababayans to let us help lead them out of harm's way," he said.
The embassy has evacuated six more Filipinos from Tripoli on Tuesday and are on their way to Tunis where they will board their flight for Manila.
Cato said the embassy has assisted 40 Filipinos in returning to the Philippines since the conflict in Tripoli erupted early this month. 

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