CAIRO- Egypt has appointed a new minister of defence in a cabinet sworn in on Thursday by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to mark the start of his second term in office.

Mohamed Ahmed Zaki Mohamed was named minister of defence, replacing Sedki Sobhi.

Sisi in April won re-election with 97 percent of the vote after a campaign season that saw a top challenger jailed and all other serious contenders pull out.

(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba Writing by Eric Knecht; editing by Sami Aboudi) ((eric.knecht@thomsonreuters.com; +20 2 2394 8102; Reuters Messaging: eric.knecht.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))