MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday confirmed that a Filipino nurse was kidnapped and raped in Tripoli amid the ongoing civil war.
The unnamed Filipina was seized in front of her residence by four armed Libyan youth on Wednesday and was released a few hours later after being abused.
DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the woman was brought to the Philippine embassy and underwent medical check-up.
Speaking to GMA Network's 24 Oras on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario reiterated the government's call to Filipinos in Libya to immediately seek repatriation.
Del Rosario said the agency will send a ship that can evacuate 1,000 Filipinos from the conflict-torn country.
Up to 6,000 people a day have fled Libya into neighboring Tunisia this week, the Tunisian foreign minister said Wednesday, the biggest influx since Libya's 2011 civil war in a sign of the spiraling turmoil as rival militias battle over control of the airport in the capital Tripoli.
The weeks-long fighting is the worst violence seen in the Libyan capital since the war. Nearly 100 people have been killed, 400 others wounded, and much of the airport has been destroyed. A giant fire has been raging the past three days after shelling hit airport oil depots, forcing nearby residents to evacuate, with firefighters largely unable to put it down because of clashes.
Earlier this month, a Filipino construction worker was kidnapped and beheaded by militiamen in Benghazi. - reports from Pia Lee Brago, Camille Diola and Associated Press