Performers parade with giant marionettes and drums during a street procession at an art festival in Bamako, Mali, on Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Moustapha Diallo)
Performers parade with giant marionettes and drums during a street procession at an art festival in Bamako, Mali, on Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Moustapha Diallo)
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Armed men in Mali killed a TikTok influencer who had posted videos in support of the West African nation's military, authorities said Monday.
The mayor of Tonka in the Timbuktu region, Mamadou Konipo, confirmed the killing but said he didn't have more information.
Tonka is a village along the Niger River, roughly 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Timbuktu. Members of the al-Qaida affiliate Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, are known to operate there.
No group has taken responsibility for the killing.
Mali has been battling armed groups since 2012, a fight that has escalated over the past decade. The military seized power in 2020 on the pretext of curtailing the insecurity. Another military officer seized power in a coup the following year. Insecurity has worsened since then, according to monitoring groups.
Armed groups, primarily JNIM, operate in large swathes of rural regions. The landlocked nation is currently under a by JNIM.