A popular TikTok influencer, Mariam Cissé, has been shot dead in front of a crowd by suspected jihadists in Mali, highlighting the severe breakdown of state control in the conflict-torn West African nation.
Cissé, known for wearing military-style clothing and expressing strong support for the Malian army to over 100,000 TikTok followers, was abducted on Friday in a market by unidentified gunmen. According to Yehia Tandina, the mayor of Timbuktu region, “the same men brought her back to Independence Square in Tonka and executed her in front of a crowd” at dusk the following day. The mayor added that the young influencer, believed to be in her 20s, had received several death threats prior to her killing.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the murder, but Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaida-affiliated militant group, is known to control Tonka, located about 90 miles from Timbuktu. A report on state television described Cissé as “a young woman who simply wanted to promote her community through her TikTok posts and encourage the Malian army in its missions to protect people and their property.”
Mali’s conflict began in 2012 when a Tuareg rebellion was overtaken by jihadist groups aligned with al-Qaida and later with Islamic State. Despite international interventions led by France and a prolonged UN peacekeeping mission, violence expanded southward as militants capitalized on local grievances, corruption, and weak governance.
Following military coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali’s junta severed ties with Western allies, expelling French and UN troops over accusations of interference and human rights concerns, and turned instead to Russia for support, including assistance from Wagner mercenaries. However, the military government’s promises to restore security have largely failed, with divisions emerging within the armed forces.
“The power grab only deepened its divisions, splitting the army between privileged loyalists of the regime and those sent to the frontlines,” said Rama Yade, senior director of the Africa Centre at the Atlantic Council. “Coupled with the departure of international forces from Mali, this fragmentation led to abandoned positions, weapons falling into the hands of separatists, and jihadists expanding their hold over the rural north.”
In recent months, jihadist fighters have strengthened control over key supply routes linking Mali to Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, and Senegal. Since September, JNIM has imposed a fuel blockade, paralysing transport, crippling hospitals, and forcing schools to shut down indefinitely. In the capital, Bamako, and other major cities, residents face long queues for increasingly expensive food and fuel.
France, the United States, Germany, and Italy have issued urgent advisories for their citizens to leave Mali via commercial flights, warning that roads around the capital have become unsafe.
As the crisis deepens, analysts warn that the junta’s grip on power is weakening rapidly. The African Union, in a statement on Sunday, expressed “deep concern over the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Mali” and urged immediate international coordination and intelligence-sharing to assist the junta in restoring stability.
The surge in insecurity has also fueled a rise in kidnappings. Five Indian workers were abducted last Thursday near Kobri in western Mali, and on Sunday, JNIM claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of three Egyptian nationals, demanding a ransom of $5 million for their release.
