- Police confirm the Sydney siege is over.
- Three people including the gunman were killed.
Credit:9News
A police spokesperson in Sydney has admitted that "it might take a bit of time" for a hostage situation to be resolved, where at least one armed gunman has civilians at gunpoint at a downtown chocolate cafe in Martin Place.
Deputy commissioner of New South Wales Police Catherine Burn spoke after nine hours into the standoff, saying that the goal was to end and resolve the situation peacefully, even if that meant taking it on throughout the night.
Live television footage was soon broadcast following the beginning of the incident which showed customers inside the Lindt Chocolate Café standing with their hands up and pressed against the windows.
A black-and-white flag that's said to be similar to the one used by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants was also clearly visible.
The head of the Islamic Studies Research Unit at the University of Auckland said the message contained on the flag was difficult to read, but he believed it was the Shahada which translates as: "There is no deity of worship except God [Allah], and Muhammad is the messenger of God."
It's considered as the first pillar of Islam's five pillars of faith, and has in the past been used as groups such as al-Qaeda, despite not being invented by them.
Taking place from around 9:44am local time, it took five hours into the drama before three people emerged from the building, followed by two women in cafe aprons who left around an hour later.
It's currently unclear if the release of the five former hostages was made because of a negotiation or of their own volition, but police did confirm they'd been in contact with the gunman.
Refusing to say how many people remained inside the cafe, they said there was no information to indicate that anyone had been hurt.
Catherine Burn confirmed that the number of hostages wasn't as high as 30, but wouldn't speculate as to a motive nor comment on social media posts that were allegedly from people in the cafe and detailed some of the gunman's demands.
Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott earlier urged people to be calm and said that Australians who weren't in the affected areas should go about their daily business as usual.
A video statement released later in the day saw him go on to praise the police response to the "disturbing incident".
He added: "It is profoundly shocking that innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation".
Lindt Australia also took to their Facebooks to thank the public for their support.
"We are deeply concerned over this serious incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the staff and customers involved and all their friends and families" they said.
Foreign Affairs Minist John Baird tweeted that he's in touch with Australian counterpart Julie Bishop, saying that: "We continue to monitor the situation in Sydney closely".
Police have also said today that there's nothing to indicate a link between this event and one where they had apprehended a terror suspect at a home in a Sydney suburb.