Mali

People continue to be enslaved in northern Mali, according to Malian human rights organization Temedt, despite a widespread belief that slavery no longer exists in the country. According to Temedt, which means ?solidarity? in the Touareg language Tamasheq, slavery continues in the north in the region of Gao 1,200 kilometers north of the capital, Bamako, and around the town of Menaka 1,500km north of Bamako. Most of the slavery takes place between the Berber-descended Touaregs and the indigenous Bella people who live in this region, although the Peul and Songhai communities have also been known to use slaves in the past, according to Temedt. (IRIN)