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Five Chinese held hostage in Indonesia

AFP - Tuesday, April 29

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AFP) - - A group of armed men have taken five Chinese nationals hostage in Indonesia's Aceh province and demanded a ransom for their release, police said Tuesday.

Seven men armed with rifles and wearing masks took seven Chinese nationals and one local worker hostage at a tin mine in Pining, Gayo Lues district late on Sunday evening, Aceh Police Spokesman Jodi Heriyadi said.

"Three of them, (Indonesian) Abdul Karim, Liang Jian and Peng Ying Xiang have been released and told to look for a 300 million rupiah (32,700 dollar) ransom," Heriyadi said.

Heriyadi said police were in the area trying to secure the release of the remaining hostages. He declined to give further details.

It was not immediately known what the Chinese were doing in the area but local sources told the Banda Aceh-based Serambi newspaper they were part of an investment survey on the mine.

Aceh was for nearly three decades a zone of armed conflict between Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists and government forces until a peace pact was signed in 2005. GAM dropped its demand for independence in return for broader autonomy for the region.

Observers have long warned that firearms left over from the conflict could present a security threat in the region.

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