The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said Alert Level 3, which means voluntary repatriation, has been raised in Yemen, urging Filipinos to leave the strife-torn nation.

The DFA said a crisis management team sent by the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which has jurisdiction over Yemen, will help Filipinos who want to return home with the repatriation process.

Under Alert Level 3, absolute deployment ban is enforced by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Alert Level 3 was raised in Yemen as a result of escalating threat posed by Houthi rebels in the capital city of Sanaa and the numerous attacks perpetrated by al-Qaeda fighters in several towns in the country.

Violence erupted in the Yemeni capital last September when Houthi rebels swept into Sanaa and seized control of the capital.

Islamic militant group al-Qaeda, meanwhile, has turned Yemen into a base after their training bases in Afghanistan and Pakistan were closed down as a result of a major crackdown.