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Libya 'not safe yet', says priest

Priest says situation still too dangerous for overseas workers to return
Libya 'not safe yet', says priest
Repatriated Filipino workers from Libya
Published: August 25, 2011 09:20 AM GMT
Updated: August 25, 2011 09:21 AM GMT

A Filipino Catholic priest based in Libya says overseas workers from his homeland hoping for a swift return to the troubled country should think again. “Those who left and are planning to return should wait [in the Philippines] because the situation is still dangerous here,” Father Amado Baranquel of San Francesco Parish in Tripoli, said yesterday. Speaking on Church-run Radio Veritas, Fr Baranquel said there are people hiding in his church and are unable to leave because of fighting outside. “The fighting has been going on for three days preventing us from going anywhere,” the priest said. He, however, offered assurances that Filipinos still in Tripoli are safe. “Filipino workers are safe in their workplaces. It’s just that the sound of fighting and gunfire are so horrific,” he said. “Let us just pray for a speedy resolution here,” Fr Baranquel added. Reports from Tripoli say rebels are still encountering resistance from forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. Residents are staying in their homes while rebels man checkpoints, preventing access to parts of the city where fighting is still taking place. The Philippine government, meanwhile, says its Rapid Response Teams are monitoring developments in Libya and also in protest-hit Syria.

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