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Yayha Jammeh: Gambia president 'home after coup plot' | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Gambia's President Yayha Jammeh has returned to the country after a reported coup attempt, sources say. | |
Heavy gunfire was heard near the presidential palace in Banjul on Tuesday but officials say the military takeover was thwarted. | |
Details remain sketchy but Mr Jammeh said there had been an attempted invasion from neighbouring Senegal. | |
He seized power in the tiny West African nation in 1994, and is accused of not tolerating any opposition. | |
An official told the BBC that everything had now returned to normal. | |
A pro-opposition radio station says most businesses are closed, while the market in the biggest town, Serekunda, is deserted. | |
Mr Jammeh was said to have been in either France or Dubai during Tuesday's unrest but different sources agree he has now returned. | |
Apart from a short Atlantic coast, The Gambia is entirely surrounded by Senegal. | |
Its main foreign currency earners are tourism and peanut exports. | |
Mr Jammeh has won several elections since seizing power but critics say they are not free or fair. | |
Numerous officials and opposition leaders have fled the country, saying they fear for their lives. |