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Gambia's President Jammeh hunts 'foreign' attackers | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Soldiers loyal to Gambian President Yahya Jammeh are rounding up opponents after a reported coup attempt, sources say. | Soldiers loyal to Gambian President Yahya Jammeh are rounding up opponents after a reported coup attempt, sources say. |
President Jammeh has blamed dissidents based in the US, Germany and the UK for the attack. | President Jammeh has blamed dissidents based in the US, Germany and the UK for the attack. |
Heavy gunfire was heard near the presidential palace in Banjul on Tuesday but details are sketchy. | Heavy gunfire was heard near the presidential palace in Banjul on Tuesday but details are sketchy. |
Mr Jammeh seized power in the tiny West African nation in 1994, and is accused of not tolerating any opposition. | Mr Jammeh seized power in the tiny West African nation in 1994, and is accused of not tolerating any opposition. |
The president denied that the attack was mounted by sections of the Gambian military. | The president denied that the attack was mounted by sections of the Gambian military. |
"The Gambian armed forces are very loyal as far as we are concerned - there isn't any single participation of the armed forces except nullifying the attack," he said in a television interview on Wednesday night. | |
"So this cannot be called a military coup - this was an attack by a terrorist group backed by some powers that I would not name." | "So this cannot be called a military coup - this was an attack by a terrorist group backed by some powers that I would not name." |
The US government has denied that it had any role in the alleged coup attempt. | The US government has denied that it had any role in the alleged coup attempt. |
Who is Yahya Jammeh? | |
Mr Jammeh also warned that he would make "an example" of anyone who had been part of the attack. | |
It is not clear how many people have been arrested but sources have told the BBC that several relatives of alleged coup leader Lt Col Lamin Sanneh have been detained. | |
Lt Col Sanneh is among five people said to have been killed during the attack but this has not been confirmed. | |
He was a former head of the presidential guards who fled to the US after falling out with the president. | |
Gambian state TV showed a haul of weapons said to have been seized during Tuesday's fighting. | |
'Respect human rights' | |
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has called for an investigation into the attack and also urged the government and security forces in Banjul to "act in full respect of human rights". | UN chief Ban Ki-moon has called for an investigation into the attack and also urged the government and security forces in Banjul to "act in full respect of human rights". |
Mr Jammeh was out of the country at the time of the attack but has since returned to the capital Banjul. | Mr Jammeh was out of the country at the time of the attack but has since returned to the capital Banjul. |
He has won several elections since seizing power but critics say they were neither free nor fair. | He has won several elections since seizing power but critics say they were neither free nor fair. |
Numerous officials and opposition leaders have fled the country, saying they fear for their lives. | Numerous officials and opposition leaders have fled the country, saying they fear for their lives. |
Apart from a short Atlantic coast, The Gambia is entirely surrounded by Senegal. | Apart from a short Atlantic coast, The Gambia is entirely surrounded by Senegal. |
The main foreign-currency earners for the country of two million people are tourism and peanut exports. | The main foreign-currency earners for the country of two million people are tourism and peanut exports. |