DFA raises alert level 3 in Iraq

Crisis alert level 3 has been raised in Iraq, which means the government will facilitate the voluntary repatriation of all Filipinos in the country, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Wednesday.

“This was prompted by the higher than expected surge in terrorist and sectarian violence in Iraq following the withdrawal of United States military forces in December 2011,” the DFA said in a statement.

This covers all regions of Iraq except the northern autonomous region of Kurdistan, near the country’s border with Turkey.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario has directed the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad to get in touch and encourage all remaining overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the country to avail of the DFA’s repatriation offer.