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Embassy ordered to evacuate Filipinos in Iraq

Patricia Lourdes Viray - Philstar.com
Embassy ordered to evacuate Filipinos in Iraq
A handout picture received from the US embassy in Iraq on December 31, 2019, shows a US army apache helicopter dropping flares over Baghdad's high-security Green Zone on December 31, 2019, after Iraqi supporters of pro-Iran factions breached the outer wall of the US embassy over weekend air strikes that killed pro-Iran fighters in western Iraq. The US State Department said that embassy personnel are safe and there are no plans to evacuate, after Iraqi supporters of pro-Iran factions attacked the compound. It is the first time in years that protesters have been able to reach the building, sheltered behind a series of checkpoints in the high-security Green Zone.
AFP / US Embassy in Iraq

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos in Iraq are advised to evacuate the Gulf state as the Philippine Embassy has raised Alert Level 4, the highest crisis status.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Ed Meñez confirmed that the alert level in Iraq has been raised as a result of the government's coordination meetings on the situation in the Middle East.

According to the DFA website, Alert Level 4, which calls for evacuation or mandatory repatriation, is issued "when there is large-scale internal conflict or full-blown external attack."

In a live video on the Philippine Embassy in Iraq's Facebook page, Chargé d’Affaires Jomar Sadie announced that President Rodrigo Duterte has directed several government agencies to implement the evacuation of Filipinos in the Gulf nation following tensions between the United States and Iran.

"The marching order for us is to conduct mandatory repatriation," Sadie said in a mix of Filipino and English.

Sadie reminded Filipino workers in Iraq to secure an exit visa and a ticket through their employers prior to the repatriation procedures.

For those who do not have employers, Sadie said they should coordinate with the embassy in Baghdad.

"If you do not have an employer or if you are a victim of human trafficking, call us so we can help you or go directly to the embassy," he said.

Filipinos requesting repatriation or any other form of assistance may contact the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad through:

  • Contact numbers: 07816066822 (Jom) / 07516167838 (Jerome) / 07518764665 (Jobbi) / 07508105240 (Richard)
  • E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected] 
  • Facebook: Philippine Embassy in Iraq

Data from the Philippine Embassy lists 450 undocumented and 1,190 documented Filipinos in Iraq, more than half are based in the Kurdistan region while around 847 are based in the Baghdad area.

According to Meñez, many of the Filipinos in the Baghdad area work with United States and other foreign facilities.

Iranian state media on Wednesday reported that Iran launched a missile attack on an Iraqi bases where US forces are based.

State-run PressTV reported that "tens of missiles" hit the Ain al-Assad base and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards promised "more crushing responses" in case of further attacks from the US. 

ALERT LEVEL 4

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

IRAQ

As It Happens
LATEST UPDATE: October 17, 2022 - 9:36am

Saudi Arabia reveals extensive damage to key oil facilities following weekend aerial strikes that were blamed on Iran, but vows to quickly restore full production even as regional tensions soar.

Yemen's Tehran-linked Huthi rebels, who announced a sudden halt to attacks on Saudi Arabia, claims the strikes on state giant Aramco's facilities in Khurais and the world's largest oil processing facility at Abqaiq.

But Washington has pointed the finger at Tehran, condemning an "act of war" which knocked out half of Saudi Arabia's oil production and on Friday prompted US President Donald Trump to sketch out the latest in a series of economic sanctions against Iran. — AFP

October 17, 2022 - 9:36am

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday accused his US counterpart of "inciting chaos" after President Joe Biden expressed support for protests in the wake of Mahsa Amini's death in custody.

"The remarks of the American president, who is inciting chaos, terror and the destruction of another country, serve as a reminder of the eternal words of the founder of the Islamic republic, who called America the Great Satan," Raisi says, referring to the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei.

"The enemy's plot must be countered by effective measures to resolve people's problems," Raisi adds, according to a presidency statement.

Iran has been rocked by protests since 22-year-old Amini's death on September 16, three days after she was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women. — AFP

October 5, 2022 - 1:22pm

Detained US citizen Baquer Namazi has been allowed to leave Iran and his son has been granted furlough from prison, a State Department spokesperson tells AFP, confirming their release.

"Wrongfully detained US citizen Baquer Namazi has been permitted to depart Iran, and his son Siamak, also wrongfully detained, has been granted furlough from prison," the spokesperson says. — AFP

October 4, 2022 - 7:59am

President Joe Biden says the United States will place "further costs" on Iran in response to the violent crackdown against "peaceful protestors" in the country.

"This week, the United States will be imposing further costs on perpetrators of violence against peaceful protestors. We will continue holding Iranian officials accountable and supporting the rights of Iranians to protest freely," Biden says in a statement.

Biden says he is "gravely concerned about reports of the intensifying violent crackdown on peaceful protestors in Iran, including students and women, who are demanding their equal rights and basic human dignity."

"The United States stands with Iranian women and all the citizens of Iran who are inspiring the world with their bravery." — AFP

October 3, 2022 - 9:11am

The United States rejects Iranian reports that Tehran's release of two detained Americans will lead to the unfreezing of Iranian funds abroad.

Baquer Namazi, 85, was permitted to leave Iran for medical treatment abroad, and his son Siamak, 50, was released from detention in Tehran, the United Nations said on Saturday.

Now Iran is awaiting the release of about $7 billion in funds frozen abroad, Iranian state media says.

"With the finalisation of negotiations between Iran and the United States to release the prisoners of both countries, $7 billion of Iran's blocked resources will be released," the state news agency IRNA says.

But the US State Department dismissed any such link as "categorically false."

"Baquer Namazi was unjustly detained in Iran and then not permitted to leave the country after serving his sentence, despite his repeated requirement for urgent medical attention," a department spokesperson says. — AFP

April 10, 2022 - 5:33pm

Iran's foreign minister said Sunday that Washington is "imposing new conditions" in the negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement.

"On the issue of lifting sanctions, they (the Americans) are interested in proposing and imposing new conditions outside the negotiations," state news agency IRNA quoted Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying.

"In the last two or three weeks, the American side has made excessive demands that contradict some paragraphs of the text," he added.

Iran has been engaged for a year in negotiations with France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China directly, and the United States indirectly in the Austrian capital to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). -- AFP

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