MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) expressed concern over the situation of over 700 Filipinos in Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad by the armed opposition.
The DFA, in a statement on Sunday, advised Filipinos in Syria to “take the necessary precautions and stay in contact with the Philippine Embassy in Damascus.”
There are 703 Filipinos in Syria as of December 2023. DFA spokesman Ma. Teresita Daza, in a text message, said the alert level in Syria “has remained unchanged and is still at Alert Level 4 (mandatory repatriation).”
It continues to “monitor, with concern, ongoing developments in Syria,” the Foreign Affairs department said.
Syrian rebel fighters fire in the air during celebrations in the heart of Homs early on December 8, 2024, after rebel forces entered Syria’s third city overnight. AFP PHOTO
The Philippines called on all concerned parties “to exercise restraint and refrain from further violence, to avert further casualties and deaths of civilians.”
In an advisory dated Dec. 5 posted on Facebook, the Philippine Embassy in Syria advised the Filipino community “to remain calm and secure by avoiding crowded places and unnecessary travels due to the heightened security developments and operations in Syria.
The Syrian government fell early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a sudden rebel offensive sprinted across government-held territory and entered the capital in 10 days.
Syrian state television aired a video statement by a group of men saying that Assad has been overthrown and all detainees in jails have been set free, the AP said.
The man who read the statement said the Operations Room to Conquer Damascus, an opposition group, called on all opposition fighters and citizens to preserve state institutions of “the free Syrian state.”
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