Filipino deaths in Libya oil depot attack ‘unverified’ — DFA

Department of Foreign Affairs building. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Reports that Filipinos were among the fatalities in an oil depot attack in Libya is “not verified,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday.

“That’s not confirmed. We’re still verifying that report,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.

The DFA on Tuesday, February 3, said three Filipinos were among the seven abducted by still unidentified men in an oil depot in Libya.

The Agence France-Presse, quoting a Libyan security officer, however, said three Filipinos and two Ghanians were killed in the attack.

The DFA in an earlier statement said the Philippine Embassy in Libya was monitoring the situation to ensure the safety and security of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the country.

The DFA has raised crisis alert level 4 in Libya which means mandatory evacuation for Filipinos but about 4,000 OFWs have defied the order.

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