The decision comes as part of an agreement to ease President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of power after 33 years in office and end months of public protests that have paralyzed the country and pushed it to the brink of civil war.
Half of the new Cabinet ministers are from the opposition, while loyalists of Saleh make up the rest, a condition stipulated in the Gulf brokered power-transfer deal signed by Saleh on Nov. 23.
Yemen's opposition Common Forum spokesman Mohammed Qahtan said last week that Saleh loyalists would keep the ministries of defense, foreign affairs, oil, telecommunications and civil services. The opposition would head the ministries of interior, finance, cooperation, information and human rights.
The newly formed transitional Cabinet will carry out government duties for three months, after which elections will be held and Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi will formally take over the presidency.
Meanwhile, forces loyal to Saleh traded artillery fire with tribal foes on the streets of the capital Sanaa , witnesses said.
The fighting, which raged near government buildings and the compound of Sadeq Al-Ahmar, an opponent of Saleh commanding significant forces, was the latest challenge to the formation of the government.
Witnesses said shells had fallen on government buildings including the headquarters of state radio and the prime minister's offices as government forces fought Ahmar's men in their stronghold, the capital's Hasaba district.
"Militants and army soldiers have been fighting near the Interior Ministry since dawn. They're using machine guns and RPGs," Abdul Rahman, a Sanaa resident, said by phone as gunfire reverberated in the background.
