Two men have been charged in the US with attempting to overthrow The Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh, the justice department has said.

The men, who are of Gambian origin, will appear in court on accusations of conspiring against a friendly nation and conspiring to possess firearms, it added.

Gambian authorities said they had thwarted an invasion on 30 December.

Mr Jammeh seized power in the tiny West African nation in 1994.

He is accused of not tolerating any opposition.

Mr Jammeh was abroad when heavy gunfire broke out near the presidential palace in the capital, Banjul, on 30 December.

He later returned home and accused dissidents based in the US, UK and Germany of being behind the attack.

US-Gambian dual national Papa Faal, 46, and US resident Cherno Njie, 46, were arrested in the US after they returned from The Gambia, where they had helped launch the attack against the government, the justice department said in a statement, AFP news agency reports.