Seven-year-old Syrian activist Bana al-Abed, whose popular Twitter account went silent two weeks ago, was evacuated from war-struck Aleppo in Syria on Monday, a Turkish NGO said on social media.
Bana had been posting about her struggle to survive in the Syrian conflict in eastern Aleppo. After her account went silent two weeks ago, there were fears about her safety. However, British media reported last week that the girl was "safe." Sources told BBC that the girl and her mother, Fatemah, are both alive and hiding at an undisclosed location in Aleppo.
Bana's Twitter account is managed by her mother Fatemah, who tweets about the ordeal they face on a day-to-day basis in war-gripped Aleppo. Bana's Twitter account has gained huge popularity since Fatemah began tweeting in September.
"This morning @AlabedBana was also rescued from #Aleppo with her family. We warmly welcomed them," the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) posted on its Twitter account, along with an IHH aid worker's selfie with the Syrian girl.
Turkish NGO @ihhinsaniyardim confirmed that this morning @AlabedBana and her family were rescued from Aleppo amid a group of 1,500 people. pic.twitter.com/CyBhsfKXgj
— Chronicles of Shame (@ShameChronicles) December 19, 2016
Bana has become a symbol for the ongoing tragedy in Syria as her frequent tweets keeps the world updated about atrocities committed on civilians by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. However, the Bashar regime has slammed Bana's tweets calling it propaganda.
"I have no medicine, no home, no clean water. This will make me die even before a bomb kill me," Bana's account had stated last month.
The girl had also tweeted on November 27 that she had almost died after her home was destroyed by bombing, together with a picture of herself covered in dust. Bana reported that she had a minor injury and was hungry.
Bana had tweeted in November that she was worried that the Syrian Army would target her family because of the Twitter posts.
An IHH spokesperson told AFP that the young girl was among the first batch of evacuees on Friday morning and that she was "likely to be transferred to the camps in Idlib province."
The evacuation operation of a rebel-held enclave in eastern Aleppo is underway after a new ceasefire deal was reached last week, according to Red Cross officials.
