New Mali Cabinet includes post for reconciliation and development of north

DAKAR, Senegal – Mali's new prime minister has selected a 34-person Cabinet that includes a post focused on reconciliation and development of the country's north, which fell under rebel control following a coup last year.

The new Cabinet, disclosed in a communique read on state television Sunday, also includes several members of the transitional government that steered Mali through elections won last month by President Ibrahim Boubakar Keita.

Oumar Tatam Ly, a former special adviser at the Central Bank of West African States, was named prime minister last week.

The March 2012 coup expedited the seizure of Mali's north by a mix of rebel groups, including Islamist radicals with links to al-Qaida. The radical jihadists were ousted by a French-led military intervention beginning in January of this year.