Mali junta overruns loyalist base in blow to counter-coup BAMAKO (Reuters) - Soldiers from Mali's ruling junta overran the main barracks of the presidential guard in the capital Bamako on Tuesday, striking a heavy blow to the loyalist unit that has been fighting since Monday to reverse a March coup. Dozens of residents near the Djicoroni camp, scene of heavy shooting since late Monday, broke into applause when junta soldiers entered the deserted compound and fired their weapons into the air in celebration, a Reuters witness said. "I saw the bodies of three red berets in a pool of blood," a witness, Demba Coulibaly said. Another witness said he counted at least 10 dead bodies in and around the camp. Members of the red beret presidential guard unit launched an attack on key sites in and around Bamako late on Monday in an apparent attempt to unseat the military junta, which has been in power since a March 22 coup. At least 15 people were killed in the overnight fighting, which centered on the state television broadcaster, the airport and the main camps of the rival military factions, according to medical sources. The junta issued a statement early on Tuesday saying it remained in control despite the counter-coup effort, which it said was backed by foreign fighters, though gunfire continued to ring out in parts of the city by the afternoon. Junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo said on state television the red berets should put down their weapons and hand themselves over to junta authorities. He also said he believed the counter-coup attempt was backed by foreigners. "The events yesterday were probably by mercenaries from elsewhere with backing from some paratroopers," Sanogo, wearing a green beret and uniform and perched on a white sofa, said over state television. Sanogo's junta overthrew Toure on March 22 after an army mutiny fuelled by frustration over the government's handling of a Tuareg rebellion in the vast desert north that has since split the country in two. The coup, which derailed April elections meant to replace Toure, has been internationally condemned. West African regional bloc ECOWAS has said it plans to deploy more than 3,000 troops to oversee a transition back to democratic rule. Speaking to a local radio station overnight, Sanogo said Monday's fighting broke out after he had sent some units to the presidential guard barracks to tell them that Malian forces should remain united during the transition. We managed to kill some and capture others. Djibril Bassole, Burkina Faso's foreign minister and an ECOWAS mediator in the crisis, said the bloc had sent no troops to Mali yet - denying rumors in Bamako that the regional body had sent commandos to help with the counter coup. "No decision has been taken in that light," Bassole told Reuters by telephone from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou. The renewed fighting marks a serious setback for the gold-producing West African nation after the junta had agreed to an interim government as a first step to restoring constitutional order after the coup. Hamadoun Toure, spokesman for the transitional government, urged Malians to remain hopeful. The prime minister and government would like to urge people to stay calm and invites them stay hopeful. The PM would like to reassure them that he was taking all measures to restore normality," he said on state television. Additional reporting by Cheikh Amadou Diouara and Bate Felix; Writing by Bate Felix and Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Michael Roddy