Nouakchott, Mauritania  - The Mauritanian military junta which took power on August 6 on Monday announced the formation of a new government, the Mauritanian news agency AMI reported.

The government is headed by Moulaye Ould Mohammed Laghdaf, the former ambassador of the north-west African desert country to Brussels.

Most of the 22 ministers were regarded as backers of the coup.

The list included three names from the Union of Democratic Forces (RFD), the main opposition party to ousted president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. The RFD, however, said they had "resigned automatically" from the party.

The RFD had earlier said it would not enter government, citing a lack of guarantees about the length of the transition to democracy and about the ineligibility of the junta members to stand as presidential candidates.

The foreign affairs portfolio was given to Mohammed Mahmoud Ould Mohammedou, who has taught political science at Harvard University in the United States.

Interior minister is Mohammed Ould Maaouya, a long-time senior official at the ministry. The defence and justice ministers retained their portfolios.

Cheikh Abdallahi became Mauritania's first democratically elected president in 2007. He was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by General Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz after being accused of not taking action against the increase of Islamist extremism and rising food prices.

The coup was widely condemned by the international community, but many Mauritanians welcomed it. (dpa)