A young Malian TikTok influencer, Mariam Cissé, was abducted and publicly executed by suspected jihadists in northern Mali.
According to Yehia Tandina, the mayor of the Timbuktu region, Cissé was taken by armed men on Friday, November 7, while attending a weekly market in the village of Echel, near Tonka. Witnesses said she was returned at dusk the next day and shot dead in front of a crowd at Independence Square in Tonka.
Cissé, believed to have been in her early twenties, had more than 100,000 followers on TikTok, where she frequently posted videos in support of Mali’s military. She was known for wearing combat-style clothing and encouraging soldiers engaged in the fight against armed groups.
Local authorities said she had received death threats before her abduction. “She was warned to stop making videos that supported the army,” said a resident of Tonka who asked not to be named for security reasons.
No group has officially claimed responsibility for the killing, but Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaida-linked organization, is active in the area and is believed to be responsible. The group has controlled parts of the Timbuktu region for several years and has been known to target civilians seen as collaborating with the government or military.
State television described Cissé as “a young woman who wanted to promote her community and encourage the army in its mission to protect the population.”
Mali has faced a violent insurgency since 2012, when an uprising in the north was overtaken by jihadist groups connected to al-Qaida and later the Islamic State. Despite years of military efforts, the conflict has expanded into central and southern regions.
The military government, which seized power in two coups in 2020 and 2021, expelled French and United Nations forces and invited Russian military contractors for support. However, insecurity has continued to worsen.
Since September 2025, jihadist groups have imposed a fuel blockade on major supply routes, causing severe shortages. Hospitals and schools have closed, and prices of food and transport have risen sharply. Several countries, including France, the United States, Germany, and Italy, have advised their citizens to leave Mali due to the growing instability.
The African Union issued a statement on Sunday, November 9, expressing “deep concern” about the deteriorating situation and calling for greater international cooperation to help restore stability.
Cissé’s final video, posted days before her death, showed her dancing and smiling in her usual confident style. It has since been flooded with messages of mourning from Malians and supporters abroad, who say her killing exposes the fear now spreading across much of the country.
