President Jammeh and Gambia soldiers

The small West African nation of Gambia, has had a military coup aborted.

The coup bid was foiled early Tuesday, while President Yahya Jammeh was in France, military and diplomatic sources said.

“Members of the Gambian armed forces have been involved in serious (gunfire) around 3:00 am. They wanted to overthrow the regime,” a military source told AFP, while a Western diplomat said that presidential guard troops were among forces who attacked Jammeh’s palace.

Mr Jammeh seized power in a coup in 1994 and his critics accuse him of ruling with an iron-hand.

President Yahya Jammeh

His administration has stifled dissent in the tiny West African nation and faced increased criticism from abroad over his human rights record.

In recent years, Jammeh has frequently reshuffled senior military and civilian officials, a move that prevented individuals from becoming too powerful but stoked instability.

Banks and other offices remained closed on Tuesday, residents said. State radio played traditional kora music and did not refer to the incident.

There was no official confirmation of the reports on Twitter and media of an attempted coup