MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines warned its nationals in Yemen on Wednesday, January 28, to flee the Middle Eastern country that faces increasing unrest after its president and Cabinet resigned. 

In a statement, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine embassy in Riyadh “is monitoring political and security developments in Sana’a and the rest of the Republic of Yemen as it continues to urge all Filipinos in the country to leave as soon as possible.”

“All Filipinos in Yemen are urged to leave the country as soon as possible. The Republic of Yemen continues to be under alert level 3 (voluntary repatriation) with all new deployments of Filipino workers or their return from vacation banned,” the DFA said.

“All Filipinos are urged to avoid unnecessary travel outside their homes which should also be fortified against stray bullets. The embassy strongly urges them not to participate in any mass demonstrations and to avoid areas of conflict. If necessary, they are advised to leave their places of residence which are in or near areas of conflict,” it added.

The Philippine embassy also said it “continues to assess the political and security situation in Yemen in light of the recent resignations of high officials of the Yemeni government and after the Houthi occupation of the presidential palace.”

The Philippines raised alert level 3 over Yemen in December 2013 after a suspected terrorist attack killed 7 Filipinos and injured 11 others there.

A government estimate shows up to 2,190 Filipinos live in Yemen. 

The situation in Yemen worsened after President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his Cabinet quit in the face of an apparent coup attempt by anti-US rebels.

This prompted US President Barack Obama to pledge on Sunday, January 25, to maintain pressure on Al-Qaeda in Yemen. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com