Disputed Madagascar president names new Cabinet, with no key opposition members

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar - Disputed President Marc Ravalomanana named a new Cabinet Tuesday that did not include any top supporters of his political rival.

Ravalomanana dissolved his Cabinet on Saturday, saying he wanted to create a "government of national reconciliation" with followers of former President Didier Ratsiraka.

Control of the island nation has been split between the two leaders in a dispute over results of Dec. 16 presidential elections. Ravalomanana was sworn in as president last month following a court-supervised recount.

During recent negotiations in Senegal, mediators proposed the two leaders form a transition government in advance of legislative elections.

Ravalomanana's new Cabinet was expanded to 34 ministers from 31 and had only minor changes, none of them surprising. No top Ratsiraka loyalists were included in the government.

Ratsiraka left for France last week under unclear circumstances as fighting intensified between his and Ravalomanana's forces.

Ravalomanana's forces control the capital, Antananarivo, while Ratsiraka's supporters rule much of the coastline and its ports. In recent days, Ravalomanana's soldiers captured two key ports, and pockets of fighting have been reported across the country.

Madagascar is an impoverished Indian Ocean island nation of 16 million people off the coast of Mozambique.