A TikTok influencer in Mali has been killed in public by suspected jihadists. Mariam Cissé, who posted videos supporting the ruling military junta to more than 100,000 followers, was abducted in a market in Tonka and later executed in front of a crowd.
The attackers are believed to belong to Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaida-linked group active in the region. Cissé, thought to be in her twenties, had received death threats before her killing.
Mali's jihadist crisis deepens
Mali's conflict began in 2012 and has since expanded across the country despite multiple foreign interventions. The military junta, which seized power in 2020 and 2021, expelled French and UN forces and turned to Russian support, but violence continues to escalate.
With jihadists blocking key supply routes and fuel running out, international warnings urge citizens to leave Mali. Analysts say the junta's grip on power is weakening amid growing internal divisions and the loss of rural territories.