Dakar — Amidst mounting international pressure on the Guinean military junta, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has approved the setting up of an international commission of inquiry to investigate the September 28 massacre.

The UN boss said in a statement on Friday, that the commission will investigate the incident, with a view to determine those responsible for the act, but did not specify on a time frame for the setting up of the commission or its duration.

Ban's Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Haile Menkerios, on Friday left New York for West Africa and headed for the West Africa region to consult with stakeholders and consider the modalities for establishing the commission.

Menkerios is expected to consult with the Burkina mediator in the Guinean crisis as well as with Guinean authorities and members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and regional leaders, a statement said.

Ban's announcement to set up the commission to investigate the massacre that left 150 dead and thousands injured, follows the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Louis Moreno Ocampo's similar initiative announced on Thursday.

Ocampo said he would launch a preliminary examination of whether the events of September 28th fall under the jurisdiction of the court, which tries people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

French and American government officials have already expressed serious doubts over the innocence of the junta leader in the massacre and rape of dozens of women and girls during the bloodbath during which eyewitnesses said they saw soldiers hurriedly removing corpses and headed away to bury them in an attempt to reduce the exact count of deaths.

In his statement, Ban expressed grave concern and apprehension over the rising security and political tension in Guinea since nearly two months ago when the junta leader, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara hinted that he would run for next year's presidential election in contradiction to his earlier promise.

When Captain Camara seized power in Guinea on 23 December 2008, he promised to work assiduously to rid the country of corrupt agents and drug traffickers and set the pace for a civilian presidential election without the participation of himself, nor his junta member or civilian collaborators of his government.

Then following the massacre of the 150 civilian protestors allegedly by his presidential guards, he announced that would endorse the setting up of an international and independent investigation commission "to prove my ignorance in the killing of civilians" and to ensure that those guilty be brought before the law.

But he kicked against the idea of the deployment of an international intervention force that would provide security for the marooned civilian population who were being and continue to be harassed by military personnel.

"Calm has returned to the entire Guinean territory" he said days after the carnage and hence argued that he "could therefore not see any reason why any intervention forces should be sent to Guinea."

He told the international press that he would mobilise his compatriots to fight against any intervention force that would be sent to Guinea.

Countries within the Mano River Union including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire and of which Guinea is also a member, were most likely to dispatch the first batch of forces to Guinea.

Senegal, whose president came to the rescue of Captain Dadis in the early hours of the his military takeover, also said he would send troops to Guinea if such an agreement was reached.