The request was made on Tuesday during a meeting between Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Supamonkhon and Philippines President Gloria Arroyo who made a brief transit in Bangkok on her way back from Libya.

Kantathi told reporters that Manila was asked to take care of some 100 Thai workers in Lebanon because it has an embassy in Beirut while Bangkok does not.

Israel attacked Hezbollah in Lebanon after the guerrilla group carried out a crossborder raid on a military patrol, killing eight soldiers and capturing two others. Israel has carried out a relentless aerial campaign in Lebanon and its capital Beirut, while Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli towns and cities.

Meanwhile, fifteen Thais have been safely evacuated from Lebanon to Syria, the Foreign Ministry announced.

The ministry's press statement said that the Thais had reached Syria on Monday at 9:30pm, Syrian time.

The fifteen were the first batch of Thais evacuated by the Foreign Ministry following the fighting between Israel and Lebanon.

About 100 Thais are living in Lebanon and all can be accounted for, the ministry said.

The Nation