Department of Foreign Affairs. (Photo from the DFA Facebook account)
MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos have been advised to cancel any travel to Iraq amid escalating tensions in this Western Asian country.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) calls on all Filipinos to cancel, until further notice, any travel to Iraq in view of the current situation in the country,” the DFA said in an advisory on Friday.
This comes as tensions escalate after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iran general in Baghdad.
Before this, Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters also broke into the U.S. embassy compound in Iraq to protest U.S. airstrikes against an Iran-backed militia over the weekend that killed 25 fighters, the Associated Press earlier reported.
According to Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Eduardo Meñez, the situation in Iraq is “being closely monitored” and that the DFA is “prepared to send a rapid response team should it be deemed necessary.”
“Direct conflict in Iran itself is presently unlikely,” Meñez noted.
The DFA, likewise, “strongly advised” Filipinos in Iraq to coordinate closely with the Philippine embassy and their employers in the event that mandatory evacuation will be necessary.
The DFA said Filipino in Iraq may contact the embassy at (+964) 781-606-6822; (+964) 751-616-7838; and (+964) 751-
876-4665 or through email: baghdad.pe@dfa.gov.ph; as well as through its official Facebook page.