Bulletin: On the Airstrikes in Tripoli

03 July 2019 — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) urges the Filipino Community in Tripoli to heighten their vigilance and to take the necessary precautions after 40 people were killed and another 80 were wounded at an airstrike at a migrant detention center early Wednesday.

The DFA echoed the advisory issued by the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli shortly after the incident that took place in Tajoura District, about five kilometers from a hospital compound where around 40 Filipino nurses and their dependents were staying.

Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato said there were no Filipinos reported among the casualties. The detention center, which was located next to a military camp, housed mostly African migrants. The Embassy advised Filipinos residing or working near military facilities or formations to take added precautions and to relocate if necessary in the wake of the announcement by the Libyan National Army (LNA) that they will be carrying out more airstrikes against military targets inside Tripoli.

There are an estimated 1,000 Filipinos in the Libyan capital and its immediate outskirts, most of them nurses and other hospital workers. Chargé d’Affaires Cato said the Embassy remains concerned about the safety of more than 40 Filipino nurses and engineers who could not be convinced to temporarily leave their work places which are in areas where fighting has been taking place. On Sunday, 11 Filipino nurses sought shelter at the Embassy after fighting again broke out near their hospital south of Tripoli. Another six Filipinos have requested assistance in getting repatriated due to the fighting. END