Reuters: World News: Mali Tuaregs, Islamist rebels agree to merge, create new state

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Mali Tuaregs, Islamist rebels agree to merge, create new state May 26th 2012, 21:58 Bamako | Sat May 26, 2012 5:58pm EDT Bamako (Reuters) - Mali's Tuareg rebel MNLA and Ansar Dine Islamist militants have agreed to merge and create an independent Islamic state in the north of the country, a rebel spokesman said on Saturday. The deal between MNLA, which has said it wants an independent secular state in the north, and the al Qaeda-linked Salafist Ansar Dine, which had wanted to impose Sharia across Mali, may complicate international efforts to stabilize Mali after a March coup that plunged the country into chaos. Celebratory gunfire was heard across the city of Gao and Timbuktu after news of the agreement, residents said. (Reporting by Cheick Dioura and Adama Diarra; Additional reporting and writing by Bate Felix in Dakar; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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