Mali, West Africa: Young female named Mariam Cisse, aged 22, from a small town in Timbuktu region of Mali, was abducted and later killed by the suspected jihadists on Friday, November 07, 2025. The victim was a famous TikTok star with over 100K followers, who used to post videos about her life in her hometown and often supported Mali’s army.
Reportedly, the tiktoker was kidnapped by the jihadists from a local fair in Tonka while she was streaming live on Thursday, November 06,2025. The jihadists believed that she was linked with the Mali’s army and has been reporting them about their movements.
The very next day, she was taken to Tonka by the jihadists on a motorbike at the Independence Square, located in the town and moments later the suspects shot her multiple times with their firearms in front of hundreds of people, including her brother.
The brother of the victim told the AFP news agency that “My sister was arrested on Thursday by the jihadists and killed on Friday, while saying that they had accused her for being informed of the army.”
Authorities stated that the victim was killed because she was supporting the military and the suspects believed that she was a person who filmed jihadists and their activities for the Malian army. They also said “In some of her tiktok videos, she was seen wearing a military uniform.”
They also emphasised that her death came as the crisis caused by the jihadist blockage has worsened, with schools and universities remaining shut for weeks.
This situation caused so much trouble following which on Friday, the French foreign minister asked their citizens to urgently leave the country while the commercial flights are available.
Additionally on Sunday, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf – the Chairperson of AU Commission also expressed his concern on the death of a female tiktoker as he said “He is concerned about the rapid deterioration of the security situations where the terrorist groups have imposed blockades, disrupted access to essential supplies, and severely worsened humanitarian conditions for civilian populations.”
He further emphasised that “AU is ready to support Mali, as well as all Sahel countries, during this particularly challenging period.”
The death of Mariam Cisse has shocked her family members as well her community and fans as she was the one who used to battle against the jihadists since 2012. Her family members in sorrow said that she just simply wanted to promote her community and army through her tiktok videos.