Mariam Cissé, who posted videos in support of ruling junta, received death threats before being abducted and killed

A TikTok influencer has been shot dead in front of a crowd by suspected jihadists in Mali, underlining how state control has been eroded in the west African nation.

Mariam Cissé often wore combat attire to post videos in support of the country’s military to more than 100,000 followers on TikTok. According to Yehia Tandina, the mayor of Timbuktu region, she was abducted in a market on Friday by unknown gunmen.

Political instability and fuel shortages caused by rebel group is driving Mali to brink of becoming Islamist republic

Armed groups of JNIM fighters have blocked key routes used by fuel tankers, disrupting supply lines to the capital Bamako and other regions across Mali.

The al-Qaida-linked jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) is gradually converging on Mali’s capital, Bamako, with increasing attacks in recent weeks, including on army-backed convoys.

Group affiliated with al-Qaida target army base and Timbuktu river boat as violence surges in region

Al-Qaida-linked militants have killed at least 64 people in twin attacks on an army base and a crowded passenger boat on the Niger River in northern Mali.

Extremists from the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) appear to have targeted the Timbuktu boat on the river and an army position at Bamba, in the northern Gao region, with “a provisional toll of 49 civilians and 15 soldiers killed”, according to a government statement.