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Hostage situation in downtown Sydney, Australia

An armed man took around 20 people hostage inside a central Sydney cafe on 15 December morning

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An armed man took around 20 people hostage inside a central Sydney cafe on 15 December morning. Photo: Two women hostages inside the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place, Sydney

© EPA/SEVEN NEWS TV CHANNEL

Local media report that five people have managed to escape the Lindt cafe in Australia's Sydney. Photo: A female employee hostage at the cafe managed to escape from the Lindt cafe in Sydney

© EPA/JOEL CARRETT

The standoff followed news reports that police had arrested a terrorism suspect in western Sydney

© AP Photo/Rob Griffith

Photo: A released hostage speaks with police near a Lindt Cafe, Sydney, 15 December 2014

© EPA/DAN HIMBRECHTS

An Islamist flag was seen hanging in the window of the cafe. Photo: Police outside a Lindt cafe, Sydney, Australia, 15 December 2014

© EPA/DAN HIMBRECHTS

The surrounding area has been evacuated

© EPA/JOEL CARRETT

Police have established contact with the armed hostage taker. Photo: A man believed to be a gunman inside a cafe in Sydney

© AP Photo/Channel 7 via AP Video

Photo: An elderly women is helped to evacuate during a siege under way in the central business district of Sydney, 15 December 2014

© EPA/JOEL CARRETT

Photo: Police officers near a Lindt Cafe in Sydney, 15 December 2014

© EPA/JOEL CARRETT

Photo: Australian Prime minister Tony Abbott speaks to the media during a press conference commenting on the unfolding siege at a cafe in Sydney, 15 December 2014

© EPA/LUKAS COCH

An armed man took around 20 people hostage inside a central Sydney cafe on 15 December morning. Images from the site. The standoff followed news reports that police had arrested a terrorism suspect in western Sydney. An Islamist flag was seen hanging in the window of the cafe. The images from the scene - in this gallery by TASS

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