jihadists target civilian in Tonka amid rising violence in Mali
Abdoulaye Tandina, known affectionately as Badou ‘Wayé’ (‘the butcher’ in Songhai) or Abba by the children he befriended, met his end at dusk on Monday in Tonka. Armed men dragged him from the marketplace where he sold meat, executing him along the roadside.
A fourth-generation butcher from Tombouctou, Abdoulaye had called Tonka home for over 40 years. Once the leader of the city’s butchers’ guild—though some say he no longer held that title—his daughter, who runs a shop in Tombouctou, remains inconsolable, according to a family friend.
relatives question motives behind targeted killing
In just eight months, Abdoulaye Tandina is the fourth victim of targeted violence in Tonka. Late March saw the killing of a local youth association leader, while June witnessed the murder of a Quranic teacher. November 2025 brought the public execution of Mariam Cissé, a TikToker who openly supported Mali’s military—an act that shocked the nation.
Yet Abdoulaye ‘never displayed political views,’ his family insists, leaving them baffled by the jihadists’ decision to target him. A relative reveals he was a cousin of Tombouctou’s current delegation chief—the city’s acting municipal authority—and yet this connection alone seems insufficient to explain his murder.
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