Gambian authorities let a popular radio station resume broadcasting on Monday, days after closing it down as part of a crackdown, as long as it airs only music, a government source said.

The source said the manager of Teranga FM radio station, Alagie Ceesay, had been informed of the decision when he presented himself to police in a southern suburb of the capital Banjul, as he must do according to his bail conditions.

On Saturday, security agents had ordered Ceesay to immediately stop broadcasts by his independent station which translates news from English into local languages.

No explanation was given for the clampdown on the station, but it followed a failed coup attack against the west African country's strongman President Yahya Jammeh on December 30.

The radio station was also shut temporarily in 2011 and 2012, the latter close came amid international outcry over the state's execution of nine prisoners.

Analysts had warned that Jammeh, who has been accused of widespread human rights violations during his 20-year rule, could use the attack as justification for stifling dissent.