₦airaland Forum

A TikTok influencer has been shot dead in front of a crowd by suspected jihadists in Mali, underlining how state control has been eroded in the West African nation.

Mariam Cissé often wore combat attire to post videos in support of the country’s military to more than 100,000 followers on TikTok. According to Yehia Tandina, the mayor of Timbuktu region, she was abducted in a market on Friday by unknown gunmen.

At dusk the next day, “the same men brought her back to Independence Square in Tonka and executed her in front of a crowd”, Tandina told the Associated Press. The mayor said Cissé, who is believed to have been in her 20s, received death threats before her death.

No one has claimed responsibility for the killing but Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a group linked to al-Qaida, is known to patrol Tonka, which is about 90 miles from Timbuktu.

“This young woman simply wanted to promote her community through her TikTok posts and encourage the Malian army in its missions to protect people and their property,” said a report on state TV.

The conflict in Mali began in 2012 when an uprising by Tuareg rebels was hijacked by jihadist groups linked to al-Qaida and later Islamic State. Despite French-led interventions and a UN peace mission, violence spread southward as insurgents exploited local grievances, corruption and weak governance.

The military took control of the country in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, after which tensions with western allies deepened. The junta expelled French and UN forces, accusing them of interfering over human rights issues, and turned to Russia for support, including from Wagner mercenaries.

The army has failed to end the insurgency, despite its promises to improve security, and tensions have developed within its ranks.

“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 thinktank. “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.”

The jihadists have tightened control over key supply routes from neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania and Senegal. Fighters from JNIM have imposed a fuel blockade since September, crippling transport and leaving hospitals struggling, and the government has been forced to shut down schools indefinitely. In Bamako, the capital, and other cities, queues stretch for miles for increasingly costly fuel and food.

France, the US, Germany and Italy have issued warnings to their citizens to leave Mali urgently on commercial flights, saying the roads around the capital were unsafe.

Although the junta is holding on for now, analysts and observers say the fall of the regime is likely within weeks or months.

In a statement on Sunday, the African Union “expressed deep concern over the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Mali”, calling for urgent international coordination and intelligence-sharing to help the junta restore stability.

The worsening insecurity has led to a spike in kidnappings: five Indian workers were abducted last Thursday near Kobri in western Mali. On Sunday, JNIM claimed responsibility for the abduction of three Egyptian nationals and demanded $5m to release them.

bewisemasses:
Africakkkkkjdjdjdjhdhdh

7demons:
Good for her. She got the Fame she wanted and hoped she cashed out also?
I heard Tik-tok pays $650 per 1million views.
If you love your Army so much, join them on the War front. Not on social media.

fixedhollies:
To think Nigerians are not ruthless against this kind of people is alarming. They call them brothers! We now argue if we should allow US to clear them or not. Is it until they outrun the states structure? RIP to the dead

lastmessenger:
How a rational thinking thinking person continue to be a Muslim even the face of this evil is beyond my understanding. A religion that brings nothing but death and destruction

Buhari4dullard:
How that religion is called peaceful, defies me.

That religion is so violent & blood thirsty,
that the hatred it has for Jews proves it cant be Abrahamic.
How can it be Abrahamic and hate the children of Abraham?

Notice once u become Christian, in most cases u love the Jews.
With the religion of peace, once u join them you hate Jews.

Being Abrahamic should make u love the children of Abraham,
not hate them.

This shows that the religion of peace does not worship the God of Abraham.

If their god was the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob,
he would have asked them to stop killing Jews.

Hence one can safely say that their god is NOT God.

SamuraiXXX:
Religion of piss people are at it again

franchasofficia:
This is really sad


The main reason Mali's Military Government is unable to keep the country safe is because of war on multiple fronts.


They are fighting separatists that want to secede from Mali.

They are fighting Muslim Jihadists.


Nigeria must learn from all of these; make peace wherever that's necessary and don't open war on too many fronts at the same time if not the military will be overwhelmed, that was part of why Hitler's Germany was defeated in 1945; they were fighting on too many fronts, which made them lose to USSR towards the Eastern front as Britain, US and other allies dealt with them on the Western fronts

Brendaniel:
Are you not seeing a similar pattern with Nigeria?

Brendaniel:
Are you not seeing a similar pattern with Nigeria?

Buhari4dullard:
How that religion is called peaceful, defies me.

That religion is so violent & blood thirsty,
that the hatred it has for Jews proves it cant be Abrahamic.
How can it be Abrahamic and hate the children of Abraham?

Notice once u become Christian, in most cases u love the Jews.
With the religion of peace, once u join them you hate Jews.

Being Abrahamic should make u love the children of Abraham,
not hate them.

This shows that the religion of peace does not worship the God of Abraham.

If their god was the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob,
he would have asked them to stop killing Jews.

Hence one can safely say that their god is NOT God.

lastmessenger:
How a rational thinking thinking person continue to be a Muslim even the face of this evil is beyond my understanding. A religion that brings nothing but death and destruction

bewisemasses:
The African Union needs to be more proactive in fighting terrorism in Africa and power houses in Africa like Nigeria shud be at d forefront of this fight, aiding smaller nations,but horrible leadership and corruption promax with this born to rule mentality just makes us a disgraced nation in d comity of nations.
Worse still is d propaganda of d present regime trivializing very sensitive national issues. Nigeria wake up as d giant of Africa if not one day countries like Niger will overtake us and show us oppressive shege. Winning a physical battle is not only by size o
Let's be wise