DFA eyeing 'extraction strategy' to rescue Pinoys in Syria

Anticipating the violence in Syria to escalate further, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said it may be forced to adopt an "extraction strategy" to rescue Filipinos in the troubled country. DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez quoted Secretary Albert del Rosario as saying, "Based on new developments in Homs [a major city in Syria], we may need to go one step further and resort to a strategy of extraction. For this, we will activiate our rapid response team composed of Philippine National Police and DFA personnel." Del Rosario did not elaborate on how the "extraction strategy" will be done. Alert level 3 Earlier, the DFA raised the alert in Syria to level "3" – which entails the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos there. "From our visit to Damascus two week ago, we had anticipated a probable escalation of violence which resulted in our bringing in an additional team of negotiators to focus on mandatory repatriation," Del Rosario said. He also said the DFA will expand the teams operating in Syria to help Filipinos in distress.  "We will, however, begin bringing back non-essential folks such as the families of embassy staff.  As [we did] in Libya, and for as long as  we have OFWs that need help, our embassy will continue to operate as mandated by the president," he added. Late in January, The Arab League suspended its observer mission monitoring the deadly regime crackdown on dissent in Syria because of the upsurge in violence.   Attacks by government forces on militants spread to major cities in the country, including Homs. As of January 28 this year, at least 193 people – mostly civilians – have been killed in Syrian violence nationwide, according to figures provided by official sources and human rights activists. — LBG/VVP, GMA News