Multiple shots were fired near the presidential palace in Gambia on Tuesday in what local officials are calling an attempted coup while the president is abroad, the Associated Press reported.
Armed soldiers believed to be linked to President Yahya Jammeh's guard launched the attack in the capital Banjul, witnesses said on condition of anonymity. Jammeh left the tiny African nation on Saturday for France, the AP reported.
"They wanted to overthrow the regime," an unnamed official said, according to the BBC.
Intelligence officials did not release any more details about the alleged coup attempt. The state radio and television stations experienced blackouts during the incident, the AP reported.
Jammeh was 29 years old when he seized power in a 1994 coup. The president has long been accused of human rights violations and leading a repressive regime in the country, which is a former British colony.
He condemned homosexuality during a 2013 speech and said it's the greatest threat to civilization. In 2008, he threatened to behead gays and lesbians in the country.
A law was signed in October allowing life sentences for those accused of homosexuality. That law and other alleged human rights violations prompted the U.S. to remove Gambia from a trade agreement.
Gambia is located in West Africa, surrounded on three sides by Senegal. Jammeh was quoted as telling the BBC in 2011 that he would rule Gambia for "a billion years."
