Islamic State forced frightened Philippine nurses to give medical training to militants in Libya
A Philippine nurse held by Islamic State in the Libyan city of Sirte said on Monday that she and her colleagues had been forced to treat militants and give them medical training.
The nurse is from a group of seven women, one man and a 10-month-old child who are being repatriated from Libya to the Philippines. They were freed from Sirte when local forces drove Islamic State from the city last year.
Islamic State took full control of Sirte in early 2015, turning it into their North African stronghold and holding dozens of foreign captives. The Philippine nationals are medical staff who were among foreign workers already in the city when it came under the ultra-hardline group’s rule.
It was a horrible time. Each day we lived in fear
“When they found out we were Muslim they released us but under a strict condition that we will have to work as nurses in their hospital and we had to train ISIS (Islamic State) on emergency care and nursing course,” the nurse, who was not named, told reporters in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
“It was a horrible time. Each day we lived in fear. We didn’t know what was going to happen next. And they threatened to kill us if we left Sirte.”
The Philippine staff worked at Sirte’s main hospital, which Islamic State used to treat their wounded fighters until they were pushed out of central Sirte in August.
Militants then retreated towards their final strongholds near Sirte’s seafront, taking medical equipment and foreign captives with them.
