Ivory Coast's Gbagbo names government led by rebel

By Loucoumane Coulibaly and Ange Aboa

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo named a new government on Saturday led by rebel chief Guillaume Soro under a deal to reunite the war-divided country.

U.N. peacekeepers agreed to start withdrawing forces in the middle of April following last month's deal between Gbagbo and Soro to disarm fighters and organise elections within 10 months.

The home-grown agreement raised hopes of healing the wounds of a 2002-2003 civil war after a series of foreign-backed accords ended in bickering.

"The mission of this government is very clear," said Sidiki Konate, spokesman for Soro's New Forces rebels and tourism minister in the new cabinet. "The government must resolve the question of identification, resolve the question of rebuilding the army, resolve the question of organising elections."

Mass immigration to prosperous Ivory Coast since its 1960 independence from France has exacerbated ethnic divisions.

The thorny issue of distributing identity papers to many people who don't have them has torn apart previous consensus governments designed to end the conflict.

The new government includes six new ministerial appointees but leaves many portfolios unchanged from the previous unity cabinet of interim prime minister Charles Konan Banny. The number of ministers was cut by three to 33.

Charles Koffi Diby became economy and finance minister. He previously held the portfolio as minister delegate on behalf of Banny, who stepped down this week to make way for Soro.