FIVE Chinese nationals held hostage in Indonesia’s Aceh province for two days have been freed unharmed and without any ransom paid, police said yesterday.

“Five Chinese nationals were evacuated Tuesday morning. All of them are in good condition,” local police chief Armia Fahmi said.

He said police still had no information on the identity of the kidnappers, who had fled the area.

Seven men armed with rifles and wearing masks took the Chinese hostage at a tin mine in Pining, Gayo Lues district late Saturday, police said.

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.

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

(SD-Agencies)