DHAKA: A small group of Philippine workers flew home from strife-torn Libya on Saturday, grateful to have escaped the conflict but anxious about bleak job prospects in their own country.

The 21 Filipinos, red-eyed and weary from lack of sleep and a long journey, arrived at Manila airport using tickets paid for by the Philippine government, which has ordered a mandatory evacuation of its 13,000 nationals from the North African nation.

‘It was difficult. There were explosions night and day,’ oil pipeline welder Michael Antalan, 37, told media, reports The Straits Times.

Their Libyan company stopped work on July 20 and allowed them to seek refuge in the embassy in Tripoli, about two hours’ drive away.

BDST: 2020 HRS, AUG 02, 2014