The government in Mali has reached out to a key opposition figure in efforts to resolve ongoing political crisis, AFP news agency has reported.

Mali’s Prime Minister Boubou Cissé has invited influential imam Mahmoud Dicko to bring his movement into the unity government.

The prime minister visited the imam at his home, according to a statement quoted by the news agency.

Mr Dicko is a prominent player in the ongoing anti-government movement that is calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

West African regional block Ecowas recommended the formation of a unity government to resolve the crisis in Mali, a proposal the opposition had already rejected.

The president appointed a slimmed down cabinet that included the prime minister and six other ministers to work towards a government of national unity.

No statement was made on the other proposals by the regional grouping Ecowas, like the resignation of 31 parliamentarians whose election was disputed and the remodelling of the constitutional court.