Phl gov't deploys team to repatriate Filipinos in Yemen

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine government has sent a crisis management team to Yemen to assist Filipinos who wish to be repatriated home, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said today.

The department said that the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which has jurisdiction over Yemen, has deployed a Crisis Management Team to the country after Alert Level 3 or voluntary repatriation was raised there.

The Philippines has raised the alert level to Yemen due to the threat posed by continued occupation of the capital city Sana'a by Houthi rebels, and the attacks against civilians by separatists and the members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Under Alert Level 3, the Department of Labor and Employment imposes absolute deployment ban, and Filipinos who are already in Yemen are strongly urged to return to the Philippines, the DFA said.

Latest government data showed that there were 646 Filipino workers in Yemen in 2013.