Banjul - A group of senior military officials and businessmen have been charged with trying to

overthrow Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, the government  says.

A Justice Ministry statement said the group had  "conspired to stage a coup d'etat and overthrow the  president".

Mr Jammeh himself came to power after a bloodless coup  in 1994.

His critics recently expressed concern over a wave of  arrests of senior officials - some of whom have been in  jail for months without charge.

Gambian newspapers reported that the men are being  accused of bringing in weapons and mercenaries to  support their coup attempt.

The BBC's Tidiane Sy says it is not the first time that  army officers have been accused of plotting against the b president.

In 2006, another group of military men were accused of  trying to overthrow his government, and Banjul accused Senegal of taking part in that plot.

In recent years, Mr Jammeh has publicly threatened to  kill gay people and rights workers.

And last month the government expelled the envoy of the UN's children charity, Unicef.