Gambian authorities arrested three men and accused them of committing homosexual acts, which are punishable with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under a law signed in October, state television has said.

The arrests followed a security operation and the men have confessed that they are gay, according to the television report. Their nationalities were not named.

"We go around in search of suspected individuals and in the course of the investigations we arrested the men and they have confessed that they have engaged in these inhuman acts," the broadcast said, showing the men whose faces were covered.

Gambia and President Yahya Jammeh face global condemnation over the country's human rights record, in part because of the law, which introduced "aggravated homosexuality" as a crime punishable in some cases with life in prison.

The European Union said this month it has withdrawn millions of euros of funding from Gambia, an announcement that came as the mainly Muslim West African nation looks more to the Middle East for support.

During the broadcast about the arrests, the country's National Intelligence Agency appealed to the public, especially parents and landlords, to help them stamp out homosexuality