Manila seeks help to evacuate Pinoys in Ivory Coast

The Philippines has sought the help of France and the United States to evacuate about a hundred of its nationals in Ivory Coast, a spokesman said yesterday.

Ambassador to Nigeria Masaranga Umpa has met with his counterparts in the French and US embassy to ask for their help, Foreign Affairs Department spokesman Victoriano Lecaros said.

The French and US ambassadors were asked to take into consideration the Filipinos in the Ivory Coast as they evacuate their own nationals from that country, Lecaros said.

The Philippines was forced to ask for help because it does not have the funds to evacuate so many people so quickly.

However the Philippine embassy in Nigeria, which has jurisdiction over Ivory Coast, has sent some personnel to that country to handle the evacuation of any Filipinos who might be threatened by the fighting between the government and rebels.

Once the arrangements are made, Filipinos in Ivory Coast will be evacuated to Ghana, Lecaros said.

Umpa has assured the foreign department that the fighting in the Ivory Coast is confined only to certain parts of the country and that civilians are not being targetted.

However he said Filipinos who feel threatened should evacuate temporarily to a nearby country while exit points are still open. – AFP, Delon Porcalla