The African Union rejected Friday Mali\'s Tuareg rebel proclamation of independence in the north, dismissing it as \"null and of no value whatsoever.\" The bloc\'s Commission chief Jean Ping declared the \"AU\'s total rejection of the statement made by an armed group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), regarding the so-called \'independence\' of \'Azawad\',\" a statement said.