A senior UN official said here on Wednesday that Guinea's military ruler had promised to cooperate with the international commission of inquiry into the investigation of last month's attack on unarmed protesters which left many dead or injured.

This statement came as Haile Menkerios, the UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs who headed a Guinea mission last week to garner support for the international commission, spoke to reporters after briefing the Security Council.

Menkerios told reporters that Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara wrote a letter which expressed his government's support for the international commission of inquiry, and pledged full cooperation.

"This mission had gone to establish two things -- first, to ascertain a support for the commission from the government of Guinea and second to ascertain, to an extent, there is preparation readiness to support the implementation of the work of the commission," Menkerios said.

At the same time, Menkerios said he believed the commission could finish its work in a month once they are deployed to Guinea.

On Sept. 28, a peaceful pro-democracy rally in Guinea turned deadly when presidential guard troops opened fire on the protesters in a soccer stadium. Last week, UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon established an international commission of inquiry to investigate the incident.

"The secretary-general remains deeply concerned by the tense situation in Guinea following the violent crackdown, which he had strongly condemned, on unarmed civilians on Sept. 28 in Conakry," the capital of Guinea, an Oct. 16 statement said.

"The Security Council has given very wide support for the inquiry," French Ambassador to the UN Gerard Araud told reporters here on Wednesday after the closed-door Security Council consultations. Enditem