A Filipino man was reportedly hurt during “multiple rocket attacks” amid fighting in the Libyan capital of Tripoli last night (Libya time).
Philippine Embassy Charge d’Affaires Elmer Cato said in a tweet today that a Filipino man was injured following the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) advances towards Tripoli.
“We have one Filipino wounded in the forehead. He now wants to go home. We hope our kababayan (fellow countryman) in Tripoli would now realize the danger we have been warning them and would ask us to bring them home,” he said.
We have one Filipino wounded in the forehead. He now wants to go home. We hope our kababayan in Tripoli would now realize the danger we have been warning them and would ask us to bring them home. @PhinLibya is ready.
— Elmer G Cato (@elmer_cato) April 16, 2019
The Philippine Embassy in Libya also reiterated today its appeal for Filipinos in Tripoli to consider repatriation following the rocket barrage last night that struck areas where more than 200 Filipinos are located.
“The lone Filipino injured in the incident lives across this house hit by one of several rockets that rained on Tripoli before midnight,” it said on its Facebook page, adding a photo of a destroyed building.
The Embassy also said in a statement released earlier today that four people have been reported killed and 23 others injured in the rocket strikes which were felt in various parts of Tripoli.
It reads: “The Embassy also again urges our kababayan ( fellow countrymen) in or near where clashes are taking place to stay indoors or to evacuate to safer locations while you still can.”
They also reminded them to exercise extreme caution.
“Please restrict your movement and make sure you have enough food, water and other provisions to last you several days.”
Earlier this month, military strongman Khalifa Haftar ordered his eastern-based LNA to advance to Tripoli to battle armed groups of the United Nations-recognized Tripoli government, the western-based Government of the National Accord (GNA) led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.
Libya has been split into rival eastern and western administrations since 2014 due to a power struggle. GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj arrived in Tripoli to build a new government in March 2016 but the Haftar administration in the eastern city of Tobruk refused to recognize its authority, Al Jazeera reported.
Last week, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs raised an Alert Level 3 in Libya and nearby areas, meaning that only voluntary evacuations can take place. On Monday, however, Cato said in a tweet that only 19 out of 1,000 Filipinos in Tripoli wanted to go back to the Philippines.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told CNN Philippines that the government could raise the alert to Level 4 soon, which will result in the forced repatriation of all Filipino workers in Libya.
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