Malian TikToker killed by suspected jihadists after pro-army posts

November 10, 2025 10:57 PM IST First published on: Nov 10, 2025 at 10:54 PM IST

Cissé, said to be in her 20s, had more than 100,000 followers on TikTok. (Photo/X/@nexta_tv)

Mariam Cissé, a popular TikToker from Mali, has been killed by suspected jihadists after posting videos in support of the country’s army, according to a report by the BBC.

Who was Mariam Cissé

Cissé, said to be in her 20s, had more than 100,000 followers on TikTok. She often shared videos about daily life in her hometown of Tonka, in the northern Timbuktu region, and sometimes appeared wearing a military uniform. One of her videos was captioned “Vive Mali” (Long Live Mali).

State television said she “simply wanted to promote her community and support the army through her TikTok posts,” the BBC reported.

TikTok blogger killed in Mali

Mariam Cisse posted videos about the city of Tonka to her 90,000 followers

On Sunday her family and authorities revealed she had been kidnapped and publicly executed

Suspected jihadists accused her of filming them ‘for the Malian army’ pic.twitter.com/QztC1Wdm3R
— RT (@RT_com) November 10, 2025

According to French radio RFI, Cissé was livestreaming from a market in a nearby town when armed men believed to be jihadists seized her. Her brother told, “My sister was arrested on Thursday by the jihadists,” adding that they accused her of “informing the Malian army of their movements.”

Over the weekend, she was reportedly taken to her hometown by motorbike and shot dead in the town’s Independence Square, while her brother was in the crowd. A security source told AFP that she was killed because she was accused of filming jihadists “for the Malian army.”

Mali’s worsening crisis

Her death comes as Mali faces a worsening crisis caused by a fuel blockade imposed by jihadist groups. The blockade has disrupted supplies and shut schools and universities for weeks.

The African Union said it was “deeply concerned” about the security situation and the humanitarian impact. AU Commission chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said terrorist groups had “imposed blockades, disrupted access to essential supplies, and worsened humanitarian conditions for civilians.”

He added that the AU was ready “to support Mali, as well as all Sahel countries, during this challenging period.”

Mali, a landlocked country, depends on fuel imports by road from Senegal and Ivory Coast. But attacks on tankers by militants linked to al-Qaeda have choked supply routes, causing severe shortages.

The military government, which took power in 2021, has promised to improve security, but insurgent violence has continued, and large parts of northern and eastern Mali remain outside state control.