Thais warned to avoid Sydney

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, December 15 (TNA) - The Thai Consulate-General in Sydney has warned Thai nationals to, temporarily, avoid traveling to the most populous city in the Australian New South Wales State, where more than a dozen of people have been held hostages by armed men at a cafe. The Thai Consulate-General issued the warning, after two armed men who covered their faces held the victims as hostages at the Martin Place Branch of Lindt Cafe in the heart of Sydney on early Monday morning (local time), prompting Australian police to have evacuated people from the vicinity and were handling the situation. The Thai Consulate-General said in the statement that Thai nationals should refrain from visiting the area or leave the center of Sydney because there were bomb threats at many locations there. Thai Consul-General to Sydney Teerathep Promvongsanon told TNA that the armed men had the hostages to raise black flags with white Arabic letters and New South Wales police initially assumed they represent the Shahada group, which supports a Jihad movement. Latest reports stated that about five hostages have managed to escape from the seized cafe. Teerathep said Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and other concerned authorities, in the meantime, told people not to be panic, while ordering police to put the situation under control and try to negotiate. It was reported that Australian authorities told the Thai Consulate-General and other nearby government offices to close on Monday for safety. Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha told journalists that he has ordered local security authorities to follow up updates of the hostage situation in Sydney and to find out whether there are any Thai national among the victims. According to the prime minister, Thai authorities have been carefully checking suspects who may use Thailand as a transit point. The Thai prime minister also asked the general public to report clues of any security suspect. (TNA)