Cape Town — Dioncounda Traoré, the interim Malian president, has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, immediately appointing Django Sissoko to replace him, according to RFI.

Diarra resigned with his cabinet hours after being arrested by military men acting on the orders of March coup leader Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo. The decree appointing Sissoko was aired on Malian state television on Monday night. Traoré also said a new government will be announced before the end of the week.

This recent show of force comes at a time the government of Mali and Ecowas are calling on the UN Security Council to urgently approve the deployment of UN troops to the country in other to retake the north. The region has been under the control of Islamic rebels for the past eight months after a palace coup on March 22 that overthrew President Amadou Toumani Touré.

RFI reports that France has condemned the "circumstances" leading to the prime minister's resignation and have called on the president to "urgently" form a new government which "must be representative and have the support of a large segment of the Malian population".

This story was translated from French by Michael Tantoh.