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Three Tuareg and Arab rebel groups, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA), and the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA), decided to merge for negotiations with the government. French and Malian authorities have detained for questioning as many as 12 suspects in the recent kidnapping and murder of French journalists Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont in Kidal. No group has claimed the murders. Five suspects were reportedly detained at a camp for former Tuareg MNLA rebels.