Gov’t to Rescue 1,700 Pinoys in Tripoli, Libya

The Philippine government plans to rescue at least 1,700 Filipinos in Tripoli, Libya as rebel fighters streamed into the capital.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it has asked the International Organization of Migration (IOM) to assist the Filipinos.

DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis and Ambassador Alejandrino Vicente are visiting hospitals and housing areas in Tripoli to convince Filipino to return home.

Many Filipinos in Tripoli, most of them nurses, had initially refused to leave.

Rebels waving opposition flags and firing into the air drove into Green Square, a symbolic location which the government had until recently used for mass demonstrations in support of the now embattled Muammar Gaddafi.

Televised images showed Libyans kneeling and kissing the ground of Tripoli in gratitude for what some called a “blessed day.”

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