Probe deepens as hotel yields clues

Malian investigators were on Sunday intensifying the hunt for suspects wanted over the jihadist siege at a luxury hotel that left 19 people dead in the capital Bamako, where residents were seeking to return to normal life.

Two days after the attack on the Radisson Blu hotel, claimed by the Al-Murabitoun group, an Al Qaeda affiliate led by notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the authorities were tight-lipped about the direction of the enquiry.

“We are following several lines, but we won’t be making a statement,” a police source said.Pope Francis on Sunday offered his condolences to the Malian people, in the form of a telegram from the Vatican’s secretary of State Pietro Parolin to the Archbishop of Bamako Jean Zerbo.

The pope said he was “appalled by this senseless violence” and hoped for “the conversion of hearts and the gift of peace,” in the troubled country.

Bamako’s streets resounded once again with the normal concert of car horns and noisy wedding processions, despite the state of emergency in force which was imposed late Friday, which bans all rallies and street protests likely to disturb public order.

Security remained high at the major hotels. It was more discreet, though tighter than usual, at public buildings and banks.

Investigators were combing through the Radisson Blu hotel and have recovered several items inside which could help the enquiry, the police source said.

On Saturday a security source said that the authorities were “actively pursuing” at least three people over the attack in the former French colony.

Gunmen went on the rampage in the hotel from the early morning on Friday, shooting in the corridors and taking 170 guests and staff hostage.

The assault, which ended when Malian and international troops stormed the hotel, left 19 people dead as well as two attackers.