Mali forms unity government under PM Modibo Diarra

A new government of national unity has been formed in Mali in the latest effort to restore stability after a military coup in March.

• The cabinet comprises 31 ministers, including five viewed as close to coup leader Capt Amadou Sanogo.

• The head of the existing shaky interim government, Cheick Modibo Diarra, stays on as prime minister.

• Last month, the regional bloc Ecowas threatened to expel Mali unless a unity government was installed.

• The composition of the new cabinet was announced in a statement read out on state television.

• Mali has been in flux since the March coup allowed Islamists and Tuareg separatists to seize the entire northern half of the country.

• In response to international and regional pressure, the military junta in Bamako nominally handed over power to the interim government in April, but has remained influential.

• Plagued by infighting, the transitional cabinet has failed to restore order and hold elections aimed at restoring constitutional rule.

• In July, interim President Dioncounda Traore required hospital treatment after being beaten up by supporters of the coup.

• In northern Mali, Islamist fighters have taken over several key cities in the area following the rupture of their alliance with the secularist Tuareg forces .

• Since then, attempts to impose a radical view of shariah law have prompted fears the area could become a haven for radical Islamists.