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Mr Jammeh, who was in Dubai at the time of the alleged coup on Tuesday, accused “powers that I would not name” on the attack by terrorists he claimed were based in the US, Germany and the UK.

In response, the US State Department said: “The US government had no role in the events that took place in Banjul (The Gambia capital).

“The United States strongly condemns any attempt to seize power through extra-constitutional means,” a spokesman said.

A group of heavily armed men led by an army deserter attacked the presidential palace but were repelled by forces loyal to Mr Jammeh.

Several dozen military personnel and civilians have been arrested, and a large cache of weapons and explosives found, an intelligence source said.

Mr Jammeh, who has ruled the tiny country for 20 years since seizing power in a 1994 coup, blamed foreign dissidents and “terrorists” for the assault on his presidential palace. He denied it was an attempt to unseat him. “It is an attack by dissidents based in the US, Germany and UK,” he said. “This was not a coup. This was an attack by a terrorist group backed by some powers that I would not name.”

The suspects have been interrogated and were being held in “four villas” in or near the tiny west African nation’s capital Banjul, said a source close to Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency.

The State Department said the US embassy in Banjul would be open on Friday.

“We continue to call on the government of The Gambia to respect human rights and democratic values in the country,” the official said.

Credit: The Australian