Malian Quran teacher executed by suspected jihadists: sources

Suspected jihadists have executed a Quranic teacher for allegedly not practising “the right Islam”, local and security sources told AFP on Friday.

Salam Abdoul Maiga taught at a school in the town of Tonka in the northern region of Timbuktu.

“The jihadists arrived yesterday at around 6:45 pm. They arrested Salam Maiga,” a local official told AFP, requesting anonymity due to security concerns.

“They executed him because, in their view, he did not practice the right Islam,” the official added.

“The whole town is in mourning.”

A Malian security source also confirmed the “execution by terrorists”.

“My brother, who was there, told me what happened. They blindfolded him before killing him, and the jihadists took his motorbike,” a resident said by phone.

Tonka, where state forces are absent, has seen several similar killings in recent months.

In November 2025, TikTok influencer Mariam Cisse, who jihadists accused of supporting the Malian army, was executed in public.

In March, Amadou Baba Baby, a known government supporter, was shot dead in front of his shop in the same town.

Mali has struggled to contain a jihadist insurgency that has gripped the country since 2012.

The country remains volatile after large-scale coordinated attacks in April by the Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM group and the Tuareg-dominated Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).