Police investigators have been closing in on the perpetrators of the murder of a regional leader and captured three suspects, police sources said on Thursday.

Badji, 57, president of the regional Ziguinchor council in the Casamance area, was killed in the small hours of Sunday in his natal village of Sindian, about 50 km north to the Ziguinchor by armed men claiming to be members of the Democratic Movement Forces of Casamance (MFDC).

The police have made a significant step in the investigations, after questioning the president of the local council of Sindian, a witness in the incident and a cousin to the deceased, according to police sources.

The police arrested three suspects, including one named Abba Diedhiou, Senegal's national daily "le Soleil" reported.

Diedhiou, who is a member of the local council of Tandine, not far from Sindian, is thought to be the most suspectable to be implicated in the assassination.

Diedhiou did not deny his involvement, saying he was not the only one lying in the affair.

According to the daily, investigations will take a turning point in the next 48 hours and more suspects might join the three already in police custody at Zinguinchor.

Source: Xinhua