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

 

The head of the existing shaky interim³ government, Cheick Modibo Diarra, stays on as prime minister.

 

Last month, the regional bloc⁴ 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 flux⁵（动荡不定） 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 junta⁶ in Bamako nominally⁷ handed over power to the interim government in April, but has remained influential⁸.

 

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 by supporters of the coup.

 

In northern Mali, Islamist fighters have have taken over several key cities in the area following the rupture⁹ of their alliance with the secularist¹⁰ Tuareg forces .

 

Since then, attempts to impose a radical¹¹ view of shariah law, including the amputation¹²（截肢，切断） of an alleged¹³ thief's hand and the stoning of an unwed（未婚的） couple, have prompted fears the area could become a haven¹⁴ for radical Islamists.

点击收听单词发音