Troops in Mali have attacked the presidential palace in the capital Bamako hours after staging a mutiny. The renegade troops traded gunfire with soldiers loyal to the government, and a defence ministry official told the BBC that a coup d'etat was under way. The mutineers say the government is not giving them enough arms to battle a rebellion by ethnic Tuaregs. Both the US and France urged the soldiers and government to resolve their dispute through peaceful means. There has been heavy gunfire in Bamako throughout the day, and armoured vehicles had moved in to protect the presidential palace. A member of the presidential guard described the fighting to AFP news agency. "We are in control of the presidential palace. People are shooting towards us and we are returning fire," he said. The BBC's West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says it is unclear whether President Amadou Toumani Toure is inside the palace. In the northern town of Gao, young recruits were said to have begun rioting at a military base, according to the Associated Press. Earlier in the day, the mutineers took over the state's radio and TV broadcaster in Bamako and took it off air. The unrest began as the country's defence minister started a tour of military barracks north of the capital. Soldiers fired in the air during the inspection, prompting an immediate strengthening of security around the presidential palace. Troops are upset with the government's handling of the Tuareg rebellion, and are also reportedly opposed to any potential talks with the rebels. The Tuaregs have forced the army out of several northern towns in recent months. Earlier this week Ecowas, the West African regional organisation, urged its member states to support Mali with military equipment and logistics. A presidential election is due to take place in the country in just under a month. The government has so far refused to postpone the poll, despite the unrest involving Tuareg-led rebels.