Mariam Cisse
Picnews
A young TikToker from Mali has died after she was kidnapped by suspected jihadists during a livestream earlier this month.
Mariam Cisse, a 22-year-old who had over 100,000 TikTok followers from a small town in the Timbuktu region of Mali, is said to have been abducted on Nov. 6 from a local fair in Tonka. Her kidnappers said she was collaborating with the Malian army by sharing their movements online.
The Malian army has been battling jihadist groups since 2012. The country is currently going through a concerning fuel blockade imposed on the capital of Bamako by the jihadist group that has disrupted daily life, the BBC reports.
Cisse was abducted as she was walking from the local fair while she was live-streaming her journey.
A day later, she was taken to Tonka by motorbike and shot at Independence Square, in front of hundreds of people, including her family
Among the spectators was her brother, who confirmed to the AFP news agency that she had been accused of working alongside the Malian army.
“My sister was arrested on Thursday by the jihadists,” her brother said, saying they had accused her of “informing the Malian army of their movements.”
Another source told AFP that “Mariam Cisse has been assassinated in a public square in Tonky by jihadists who accused her of having filmed them for the Malian army.”
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution, called it a “barbaric” act.
According to the Free Press Journal, Ciase often wore army-style clothes in her videos to show solidarity with the Malian troops fighting the extremist groups. One of her posts was also captioned “Vive Mali” (Long Live Mali).
However, most of her online content showed an ordinary life, with her videos showcasing her daily routine in her hometown, cooking, and dancing. According to the Times of India, “her warm personality and honest videos made her well-loved in her community.”
Cisse’s death comes as living conditions in Mali worsen due to the ongoing blockade.
Schools, universities, and other learning institutions were shut down last month due to the blockade. The government said it would do “everything possible to address the crisis” in order to reopen them on Monday.
The African Union has also condemned the ongoing situation, with its leader expressing concern for the safety of the residents.
On Sunday, AU Commission chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said he was worried about the “rapid deterioration of the security situation where terrorist groups have imposed blockades, disrupted access to essential supplies, and severely worsened humanitarian conditions for civilian populations.
He also denounced the “deliberate attacks against innocent civilians” that had caused “unacceptable loos of lives and heightened instability,” adding that the AU was ready to “support Mali, as well as Sahel countries, during this particularly challenging period.”
