MANILA - Following Washington's lead, the Philippines has relocated all its "non-core" embassy staff in Tripoli to Tunisia "due to the increasing violence and lawlessness" gripping Libya's capital.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said only "male officers and staff augmented by the rapid response teams" will remain in Tripoli to oversee the mandatory evaucation of some 13,000 Filipinos still in Libya.
The Philippines ordered the mandatory evacuation after it received reports that a Filipino construction worker abducted on July 15 was beheaded by militants waging a bloody civil war in Libya. His remains were found at a hospital in Benghazi.
The Obama administration on Saturday evacuated its personnel from Tripoli as fighting between warring militias in Libya reached the capital.
