bbc.com
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.
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.
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 televised address on Wednesday.
"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."
Peter Okwoche looks at Gambian President Yahya Jammeh
Five insurgents are believed to have been killed after hours of fighting on Tuesday, according to AFP news agency.
President Jammeh has accused insurgents based in Western countries for the incident.
The US government has denied that it had any role in the alleged coup attempt.
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.
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.
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.
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