CUSTOMERS and staff were taken hostage in a cafe in the heart of Sydney’s CBD on Monday morning by at least one man reportedly armed with a gun.
Chilling early images showed some hostages apparently forced to hold a black and white flag against the window bearing the Islamic creed, raising fears that a terrorist attack was under way.
Other hostages inside the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in bustling Martin Place could be seen with their hands pressed against the glass.
The number being given for hostages inside the building varied wildly, with the CEO of Lindt Australia suggesting up to 40 people could be held inside.
At least one gunman reportedly entered the cafe around 9:45am on Monday morning, and a siege situation quickly developed, with heavily armed police surrounding the cafe and closing off the streets of the central area of Australia’s biggest city.
Police evacuated offices in the immediate vicinity of the cafe and directed workers in nearby building to remain indoors and away from open windows.
Negotiators were attempting to make contact with the hostage takers, police said.
Witnesses reported that the hostage situation began when a man with a sports bag was seen near the cafe. The man was seen to walk into the cafe and police were called.
Within minutes hostages were being pressed up against the large glass windows of the cafe, which is overlooked by the studios of the TV station, Channel Seven.
The channel’s breakfast show The Morning Show was on air when news of the siege broke.
The black flag in the window of the cafe appeared to bear the shahada, an Islamic affirmation of the oneness of God, reading: “There is no god but the God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.”
The creed is common in the Islamic world and appears on the Saudi Arabian flag, but has been embraced by Islamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and Hizb ut-Tahrir.
One Lindt employee, Nathan Grivas, arrived for work just after the siege began and found the glass sliding door of the cafe disabled.
“It was already locked [when he arrived]. I didn’t get a good look at them, as soon as I saw the gun all I wanted to do was get out,” he said.
Staff and tourists around Sydney Opera House were also reported to have been evacuated after a suspicious package was seen. Helicopters were seen hovering above the tourist attraction.
The New South Wales police commissioner, Andrew Scipione, said law enforcement was “on a footing consistent with a terrorist act” but there was no evidence the incident was connected to an arrest on Monday morning of a 25-year-old Sydney man for alleged terrorism financing.
Scipione said police had not been in contact with the offender and that his origins were still unknown.
He would not confirm claims by a Sydney radio personality, Ray Hadley, that his station had been called by one or more of the hostages inside the cafe.
“We are being tested today in Sydney. The police are being tested; the public is being tested, but whatever the test, we will face it head on. We will remain a strong, democratic, civil society,” he said.
The prime minister, Tony Abbott, made a short statement to journalists on Monday, urging people not to be deterred by the siege.
“We don’t yet know the motivation of the perpetrator, we don’t know whether this is politically motivated although obviously there are some indications that it could be,” Abbott said.
“We have to appreciate that even in a society such as ours, there are people who would wish to do us harm, that’s why we have police and security organisations of the utmost professionalism that are ready and able to respond to a whole range of situations and contingencies including this situation that we are now seeing in Sydney.”
Abbott would not be drawn on the details of the siege, including how many hostages were being held, instead referring queries to NSW police, who are leading the operation.
“The whole point of politically motivated violence is to scare people out of being themselves. Australia is a peaceful, open and generous society. Nothing should ever change that and that’s why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual.”
Abbott confirmed in a carefully worded statement that the national security committee was briefed on the siege this morning. (Michael Safi and Shalailah Medhora – The Guardian)
Link:http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/dec/15/sydney-cbd-siege-hostages-forced-to-hold-black-and-white-islamic-flag?CMP=fb_gu
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