Bulletin: On Wounding of Filipina Nurse in Libya

24 May 2020 — The Philippine Embassy in Tripoli has reminded members of the Filipino Community to remain vigilant and to take the necessary precautions after a 60-year-old Filipina nurse was wounded by artillery fire in the outskirts of the Libyan capital late Saturday afternoon.

The Embassy said the nurse sustained a shrapnel wound in the shoulder after an artillery round exploded outside the housing compound where she and several other Filipino hospital workers were staying.

Embassy Chargè d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato said the nurse is the third Filipino casualty since the outbreak of fighting in Tripoli more than a year ago. Two other Filipinos had been wounded in rocket attacks in other parts of Tripoli during the early months of the fighting.

In an advisory issued shortly after the latest incident was reported, the Embassy advised Filipinos in areas where exchanges of artillery or heavy weapons or small arms fire are taking place to relocate when able to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

The Embassy had earlier raised its concern over the possibility that Filipinos may end up as collateral damage after several hospitals in Tripoli have been struck by artillery shells. There are still more than 1,000 Filipinos in Tripoli and surrounding areas, most of them hospital workers. END