Libya health service on brink of collapse: officials

Libya's health service stands on the brink of collapse amid the fierce militant clashes in its major cities, a health official said on Thursday.

After thousands of foreign medical staff declared to evacuate from Libya, the health system is now facing "a complete breakdown, " Chairman of Crises and Emergencies Committee for the Health Ministry Abdul Rauf told Xinhua.

The evacuees include about 13,000 Filipinos, among them 3,000 are medical workers or engaged in health-related services, Rauf said, adding that it will be a major blow to the entire health system.

On July 20, the government of Philippines urged its citizens in Libya to leave the country immediately after one Philippine nurse got raped in Tripoli and another contract worker beheaded in Benghazi.

Rauf said currently the major hospitals and clinics are " borrowing" staff from each other to cover the shortfall.

Libya has witnessed a drastic escalation of violence since the 2011 turmoil which toppled the former leader Muammar Gaddafi. The recent clashes between Islamist fighters and pro-secular forces have set several cities and towns ablaze, forcing many foreign envoys and enterprises to leave.

The United States, Germany, Canada and other countries have already shut their embassies in Tripoli, while several countries including China, Britain, Germany and Egypt told their nationals over the weekend to leave immediately.

Many feared the conflicts might slide into a full-fledged civil war, which can be even bloodier than the 2011 war. Endi