APA-Dakar (Senegal) The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has called for calm and restraint in Guinea in the wake of the Monday bloody clashes noted in the capital as the riot police intervened to quell a protest rally against the candidacy of the junta leader, Moussa Dadis Camara for the January 2010 presidential polls.

In a statement copied to APA, Ihsanoglu deplored the use of force by the security forces to disperse a rally convened by the coalition of political parties and civil society groups which resulted in the tragic loss of hundreds of lives in Conakry. Warning against a further escalation of the situation, the OIC boss appealed to the ruling National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) and all the stakeholders to return to the path of dialogue with a view to preserving stability and guaranteeing a peaceful political transition leading to a free, fair and credible election.

He requested the country’s authorities to conduct an urgent and thorough investigation into the unfortunate incident, while extending his condolences to the families of the deceased.