Female TikTok star is kidnapped and publicly executed by al-Qaeda jihadists in Mali as yet another African nation descends into chaos
Al-Qaeda-linked Jihadists in Mali have kidnapped and executed a female TikTok star in front of her family after accusing her of filming them and collaborating with the army.
Mariam Cisse, who posted videos about the city of Tonka in the northern Timbuktu region to her 90,000 followers, was shot dead by suspected members of the notorious Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terror group in a public square on November 7.
News of her death has shocked the country, which is ruled by a military junta that is struggling to contain the jihadist insurgency that has gripped the country since 2012.
Mali is one of a series of African countries descending into chaos with Sudan torn apart by civil war and a humanitarian crisis and Nigeria ravaged by jihadist violence in its restive northeast.
'My sister was arrested Thursday [November 6] by the jihadists,' Mariam's brother said, claiming the Al-Qaeda affliate had accused her of 'informing the Malian army of their movements'.
Mariam, known for publicly supporting the army by wearing their uniforms in her videos, was reportedly taken out of the city from a local fair by several armed men.
She was livestreaming her day at the fair at the time of her kidnapping.
The following day, they took her on a motorbike to Tonka, where she was shot in Independence Square, a significant landmark in the city, her brother said, adding that he was forced to watch from the crowd.
In recent weeks, fighters from JNIM, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, have imposed a fuel blockade that has forced the government to close schools and prevented harvesting in several regions (File image of JNIM fighters)
Mariam largely posted comedic and lighthearted videos that focused on social issues and the perils of living in an unstable country.
A security source said: 'Mariam Cisse has been assassinated in a public square in Tonka by jihadists who accused her of having filmed them for the Malian army.'
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, called it a 'barbaric' act.
A Nigerian soldier stands on a military truck, during the tour of the Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole by Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, at the Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, Borno, Nigeria, November 7, 2025
Burnt grains and farming equipment sit inside a storehouse following a deadly gunmen attack in Yelwata, Benue State, Nigeria, June 16, 2025
He was stunned when he first saw Trump's Truth Social post - which occurred during his morning routine of drinking a shot of espresso and having his routine doctor's check-up, the Journal said.
Tinubu - a 73-year-old Muslim married to one of Nigeria's most prominent Christian Pentecostal preachers - said Trump's interpretation of his country's malaise is a 'gross misrepresentation of the reality'.
Amid the various forms of bloodletting around the country - including ethnic rivalry and banditry - the Islamist militants have been slaughtering Christians as well as Muslims they regard as 'apostates' for failing to comply with their brand of Islam.
There has also been a separate onslaught by Fulani Muslim tribesmen against mainly Christian farming communities, a protracted crisis linked to a tangle of issues like religion, ethnicity and a scramble over the dwindling supply of arable land.
While Christians are among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria's Muslim-majority north, where most attacks occur, according to the Associated Press.
