Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. said Guinea’s military used “brazen and inappropriate force against civilians” and called for the government to release opposition leaders after troops opened fire on demonstrators killing at least 157.

The armed forces have also been accused of rape and sexual assaults of demonstrators and bystanders, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in an e-mailed statement.

Security forces on Sept. 28 fired on demonstrators at a stadium in the capital, Conakry, against Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the country’s military junta leader, who announced last month he would run in presidential elections in January. The African Union, European Union and United Nations have also condemned the Guinean army’s use of violence at the protest.

“We demand the immediate release of opposition leaders and a return to civilian rule as soon as possible, a move that the Guinean people themselves continue to demand,” Kelly said in the statement. The U.S. also insists that Camara’s National Council for Democracy and Development “respect the commitments it has made and not field candidates in Guinea’s upcoming elections,” he said.

Camara’s council said it condemned the attacks and would punish the perpetrators.

“The president, the CNDD and the government actively condemn these acts that deliberately violate the law and commit themselves to bringing the perpetrators of these reprehensible acts before the competent jurisdictions,” the government said in a statement on its Web site. He also said “most of these innocent victims seem to have fallen after having been pushed.”

Gatherings Banned

Guinea today banned “subversive” gatherings and announced two days of national morning of the massacre, Agence France- Presse reported, citing rights activists, including Thierno Maadjou Sow, an official with the Guinean Organization for the Defense of Human Rights.

Muctar Diallo, leader of the opposition New Democratic Forces party, said by phone yesterday that the death toll from the attack on demonstrators had surpassed 200.

“We counted more bodies in other hospitals to bring the total of those killed to more than 200.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged authorities in Guinea and the security forces “to exercise maximum restraint and to uphold the rule of law, including respect for basic human rights,” according to a statement.

Camara seized power on Dec. 23, a day after the death of President Lansana Conte, who ruled the country for two decades. Under Conte’s rule, elections were delayed and dissent repressed. At least 110 people were killed by security forces in early 2007 after demonstrations demanding Conte’s resignation, according to Human Rights Watch. The year before, soldiers shot dead 13 unarmed people during protests against rising food prices.

After the coup, Camara suspended the constitution and pledged to relinquish control to a civilian government and not to run in national elections.

To contact the reporter for this story: Dave McCombs in Tokyo at dmccombs@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 29, 2009 23:07 EDT