A Sri Lankan peace worker abducted in the troubled southern Philippines is now in the hands of Abu Sayyaf rebels, police said on Sunday.
Umar Jaleel, a 34-year-old and member of the Nonviolent Peaceforce, has been turned over by his captors to Abu Sayyaf bandits under a Furiigi Indama in Basilan, said Benzali Jabarani, a local police commander, according to Xinhua.
"There's no ransom demand yet from the kidnappers. Our policemen are coordinating with the soldiers on the ground," Jabarani said.
Nine gunmen seized the Sri Lankan early Friday morning from his residence in Lamitan, Basilan Province. The Filipino caretaker of the house, Gil Tura, managed to escape the abduction.
Umar Jaleel's colleagues in the Nonviolent Peaceforce said they will not pay any ransom in exchange for his freedom.
Nonviolent Peaceforce is a nonpartisan unarmed peacekeeping force composed of trained civilians from around the world, according to the organization's profile. The group has been monitoring the peace process in the restive region of Mindanao.
The Abu Sayyaf group is a rebel group with some 380 members blamed for a series of kidnappings and terror attacks in the country.
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