Minutes. So when that statement comes, well, of course bring it to you. And of course all of this ongoing in sydney as it comes up on 6 00 local time. This siege going on now for more than eight hours. Im john vause at the cnn center in atlanta. And im natalie allen. We have been with you for several hours, and we will push on as this situation in australia continues. It is breaking news of a siege there in a coffee shop that has been ongoing. A gunman Holding People hostage at the lindt coffee shop in downtown sydney. Sky news has just informed us that the gunman is calling himself the brother, and has contacted a Radio Station and two tv stations via hostages
with demands, a conversation with the Prime Minister and an isil flag. We do know five people have managed to get out. Three men were seen running out two hours ago. Two of them were customers. The man in the blue jacket, the man in the white zirs and a few moments later there was a man wearing an apron who appeared to be a worker. Coming out of a different door. And it appears he was a worker at the lindt coffee shop. Hes wearing that apron. And weve been questioning our experts. Was this an escape or were they released. And according to our sky News Reporter, the police saying this was a report, just there. Then, after this, two women ran out, about 45 minutes later. This is a different camera angle, coming from a different way. There goes one. And police hustled her away. A then right after her another
suddenly emerges. Police tell us they have been in touch with the Hostage Taker, though they will not say who he is or what his motives are. Lets listen. Our number one aim is to resolve this incident peacefully. We have numerous resources from the New South Wales police force onsite, in that effort to make sure that everybody who is in this location remains unharmed. We do not have any information that suggests that anybody is harmed at this stage. And a peaceful resolution will be what we are working towards. That was the New South WalesDeputy Police commissioner there, a little over two hours ago. Well, when the standoff began more nan eight hours ago, a flag with an islamic phrase was held up to the cafes window. Also as can you see, hostages were norsed to stand in that window with their hands on the glass. Since then, heavily armed police
have taken positions around the coffee shop anchor dod cordonede area. Our reporter on the scene has reported this is a ghost town in this area. Otherwise, very, very busy area. Three blocks in every direction of this coffee shop. There have been evacuations linked to suspicious packages found around the city. Air traffic has been rerouted around sydney. This is a very disturbing incident. I can understand the concerns and anxieties of the australian people at a time like this. But our thoughts and blaprayers must, above all, go out to these individuals who are caught up in this. I can think of almost nothing more distressing, more
terrifying than to be caught up in such a situation. Our hearts go out to those people. Well, tony abbott is part of this story, since we just learned that the Hostage Taker, the brother, as he wants to be called, wants to talk with the Prime Minister. He wants a conversation with the Prime Minister and he also wants an isil flag. He had displayed that other flag which had an islamic phrase on it. Many people thought it was an isis flag. It was the white writing on a black background. But now from our Affiliate Reporter in sky news, he is demanding an isil flag. It will be interesting to know how the Police Negotiators are dealing with this person and his demands. We want to go now to anna coren. Shes been live there and on the streets of sydney for us, talking about what people are saying, the surprise from typical australians, and what she is learning. Its been very hard to get information. But anna joins us now. Anna . Reporter well, the siege has been going on now for more than eight hours, and it doesnt look like its going to be finishing anytime soon. As we said, five hostages have been released. And its a promising sign that Police Negotiators are in touch with this gunman and making his way to release those hostages. We dont know. We cant confirm that that is the result of those negotiations. But certainly, from the people within the area, people who have evacuated from nearby buildings, there really is a sense of fear, that this is taking place, this
is something australia has not been exposed to yet. Australia very much involved in the war against isis in iraq and syria, but not here. There have been no attacks on home soil, threats most definitely, but no attacks. Obviously raids over the past couple months and numerous arrests made, but, as for anything event waiting or coming to fruition, Law Enforcement authorities keeping on top of that. But this gunman walking into the lindt cafe this morning, really catching people off guard. We dont know if he had guns or other weapons, if he had bombs. But he clearly sought out his target. He is opposite 7 network australia. Tv cameras able to film the
cafe, film whats taking place. So obviously that building is being evacuated or everything nearby as is the u. S. Consulate. There are dozens of buildings within that vicinity, and the police have gone and blocked off much of the cbd around the cafe, around martin place, not allowing anybody in. Theres heavy, heavy police presence. Weve seen snipers. Heavily armed as well as other police with flak jackets. There is that contingency of Law Enforcement. They are not your regular Police Officers but the more experienced and highly trained Law Enforcement officials who are on the scene as well, monitoring what is taking place inside that cafe. I want to talk to you about the fact that this was hour the ago that this thirfirst broke o
there were images of the hostages inside the coffee shop, and theres been nothing since. Is that because think cordoned off the area . Is that because its an ongoing dangerous situation . How come we havent seen anything else as far as video from, through that first window that we saw earlier . Reporter yeah, its safe to sayna all media has been evacuated from the media. So that live that youve been getting through channel 7, that has now stopped. Theyve probably been told they have to leave the building. Theyre not allowed to leave any crews there because of the potential threat. We were within 100 meters of lindt cafe a few hours ago. Police then came and moved us on. They dont want to have visuals of the cafe, they say, security reasons. Obviously, if the gunman starts
to spray bullets or if there is an explosion, they want people away. Theyre greetitreating it very, seriously. We spoke with a woman earlier, and she said they have contact with him, they are in touch with him. But they want this resolved peacefully. At this statement, its gone 6 00 here. It could very well go into the night. But they do want this to resolve peacefully. Weve just received some new information. I think we have a comment from someone who saw the gunman. This is a witness. Outside the cafe actually saw the gunman. And he describes exactly what, he said it was, i believe it was a man who was actually didnt realize that there were hostages as first. Lets listen to what the person had to say. When i first ran into the
building, he was trying to get someones attention, trying to get in the doors. And on the third run, i was looking in there, wondering what her problem was, why she didnt go somewhere else to get her coffee. And then obviously the gunman or alleged yoefder held a bag out, and she said gun, gun, gun. In a blue bag. I saw the gunman. I was quite tall. Probably late 40s. Long white sleeved shirt on with a vest. I was very calm and pacing, looking out. And several customers were sitting down at their tables, still drinking. Im not sure how alert they were as to what was going to go on. But they were locked in. Clearly that person did not want to be identified, which is why he was shot that way, but giving us very interesting details about this woman who was turned away, and telling us just what the gunman looked like. His age and that kind of thing. Earlier there had been a report that he was in his 40s, and some people were surprised that that seemed a little old. Old, for whatever reason. These people who carry out these kind of things are younger, more easily influenced, are looking for some kind of direction in their lives. We often hear how its not just religion but poverty, unemployment, lack of opportunity which drives people to these extremist groups. As weve heard from sky news our affiliate in sydney, that the government is debating an isil flag. Isil is another term for isis. Isil is often used by
governments. Islamic state. Thats all it is. It just depends on who you are, what you use. That link is very, very close to isis. At least from the governments Point Of View. He is aspirational. He wants to be a representative of this group, which is why he wants this flag. Why he didnt have one in the first place i guess is another question. Some plan in reaching out to the media. Now three member the of the media so far thats been reported. Well, this, of course, weve always been told about the lone wolf situation, or, as you say, anyone who just needs someone to Pay Attention to them for whatever deranged reason. But australias grand mufti released a statement. We want to read it in part. And we quote, the grand mufti and the australia national
imams council condemn this criminal act and unequivocally denounce. And we aspire to a peaceful resolve to this calamity. Lets go to the president of the lebanese muslim associate in sydney on the line with more details about this. So samir, explain to us, there were occasions where police raided an area southwest of sydney. An area where many expats from lebanon live. That was not the case. Tell us exactly what had happened the last couple hours. Caller well, i dont know where you got this report. In fact, theres been reports of police on their official
website. There have been a lot of these type of reports and trying to link it to whats happening in the cafe, and police have come out and said that none of those events in any kind of shape or form related to what is currently taking place in the cafe. So youve got a car driving down, a Police Vehicle driving down the street, people getting a little frustrated or calling up and being concerned maybe that this is sort of related. So its more Fear Mongering than anything else to be quite frank with you. My understanding from one of the reports i read said that Police Actually met with leaders from the islamic community. Thats not the case . Caller thats not the case. Ive been in direct discussion with the premier of the state just about ten minutes ago. We had another Conference Call to try to give us more briefs. There have been these briefs been giving to the community
leaders every few hours to give us a bit more of an insight and give us a little bit more information about what is currently taking place. And what can you share with us about those conversations . What are they telling you . Caller theyre telling us in terms of information, which is not much. They currently dont know the identity of this individual. They dont know what the motive is. Theyre treating it as a criminal Hostage Situation. Theyre not sure whether hes linked to any particular group. And hopefully that information will unfold. There are five hostages that have left the cafe so far. So we dont know whether they have been released or whether theyve escaped. Taken from the Point Of View from what youve reported that hes seeking an isil flag, so he comes across as someone whos not really well prepared if he intended to cause that type of harm. As community leaders, weve offered our help and assistance in any shape or form if they can
identify who this individual is so we can be involved in a negotiation and a dialog with this individual. I was going to ask you about that samir, because i wondered if they asked you about that, are you disappointed in any way that they havent reached out to the community to incorporate you somehow, seeing this to a peaceful end . Caller well, unless they have facts as to which group he belongs to it will be hard to engage. He carried a black flag with some type of Arabic Writing on it. Its not the isis flag. We dont know who this individual is. Then we can target this eideal. The police and the government have been in close contact with community leaders, as i highlighted. Weve also made contact with different departments within the Police Offering our help and
assistance when they see or feel the need. We have the protocol and the safety and security of these hostages at the utmost importance. This is at the point where we as a Community Coming together as australians. Our first and foremost priority is the safety of these hostages. Samir, when this situation first started unfolding and there was this confusion about whether or not it was a shois flag or a flag with an islamic phrase on it. And everybodys making this connection that this is this lone wolf Terrorist Attack that many in australian security had been warning about, was that your reaction . Or did you think this was Something Else . Caller i take everything seriously when someones life is at stake. It doesnt bother me whether this is a lone operator or connected to a group or not. Im someone who needs to be wellinformed about the facts. And this is where we leave it to the authorities. Once the facts become available
then we can deal with the situation. The Current Situation which is of crucial importance to us is the safety of the hostages and the families. This is our main concern. The fact that we saw a black flag with Arabic Writing on it made us more concerned, obviously. You can just imagine where we wanted to try to deliver everything we can to help defuse the situation. Its important what group he belongs to. What we want to do is defuse that. Once more information comes available we are more briefed and more informed and we can deal with this issue accordingly. We have new images of what appear to be the gunman inside the cafe. s wearing a hid band, a vest and a white shirt. A backpack as well. You said youre trying to defuse the situation regarding who this guy is and what his motivation might be. Exactly how do you do that . Caller well, once the Police Officers, if they get aligned to talk to this guy and identify who he is, and then if we reach out to the Community Organizations to identify his family members. Maybe hes got someone that hes a trusted individual from an ethnic group or a family perspective, maybe we can help the Police Identify the individual and bring them into the negotiations, try to defuse it. From the video right there, its almost hard to believe that they cant figure out who that person is. Caller because they havent been able to speak to the individual. So you tell me well, they did say the negotiate eors have been in tou with him, but they havent been able to work out who he is. Caller thats something you need to work out with the negotiators. Do you think theyre talking through hostages to the gunman . Caller no, i dont think so. From what we know so far, theres been absolutely no conversation with the gunman. We did hear from sky news that the negotiators have made contact with him. You dont have any more information about that, obviously. Caller no, i dont. Well, we thank you for your time and letting us know that Community Members have been briefed every so often on this case. Thats good to hear. It must be frustrating. You can imagine that theyre standing by, they want to help, they want to get involved and find out who this person is. When they do find out who he is, maybe they can reach out to him and work to defuse the situation. All we know at this point is what weve heard from sky News Australia is that that guy there, right there in the vest with the white shirt is calling himself the brother. He has made two demands. One is to have a conversation on
the radio with Prime Minister tony abbott. Its unlikely that will ever happen. But you nene never know. The other demand is that he wants an isil or isis flag in exchange for one hostage. He apparently has said there are two bomb the inside that cafe and two bombs inside the sydney cbd. And this Security Camera that picked this up, hes adamant whatever hes saying and someone is walking up to him with their hands up. Hands up. Right thats right. This is the latest since weve been here for many hours now. But we have seen people, of course, run out. And we have some compelling pictures of one of the two women who ran from that cafe toward police, not long ago, wearing lindt aprons. Three men ran out before them. One of the men that ran out also
had an lindt apron. Thats three staff member the working in this coffee shop. I believe the woman who came out before her was carrying her purse. This woman looks like she just got out with her apron and out. And sky News Reporter we talked with, believing information she has this was an escape. It wasnt a part of negotiations. And john and is perspective. It did seem as if the police werent expecting they did seem to be taken a little bit by surprise. Earlier, the Deputy Director of the New South Wales police took questions at a news conference. Thats when we learned that poli