In 2012, jihadists, with the help of Tuareg ex-mercenaries returning from Libya, invaded northern Mali and seized the Sahel. Arby took exile, settling temporarily in Bamako. In Timbuktu, jihadists threatened her family and destroyed her instruments. Three years later, in 2015, she returned to Timbuktu. She said "Our religion has never banned music. The Prophet was greeted with songs when he arrived in Mecca. Cutting music is like keeping us from breathing. But we keep fighting, and it's going to go, inch'Allah."