Bana Alabed, a young girl caught in the Syrian civil war, has made use of Tweeter to say goodbye and to update the world on their situation. The seven-year old girl earlier caught the world's attention when she posted on Tweeter her passion for reading especially Harry Potter books to forget the war. Author J.K. Rowling responded by sending her ebooks of the magical series.
Alabed's happiness was however short-lived as she posted late night of Sunday that their house had been bombed and she was not sure if she would be able to continue using Tweeter as per CNN. Syrian forces launched a ground assault Saturday and have retaken eastern Aleppo from the rebels. This is considered the Syrian regime's biggest victory since five years ago when the uprising started.
"Tonight we have no house, it's bombed and I got in rubble. I saw deaths and I almost died," Bana Alabed posted on Tweeter. Her mother Fatemah, who oversees her account, posted an update Monday and said they were on the run since their home got hit and the area is being heavily bombarded. They are in need of medical care and food.
BBC said Fatemah posted a photo of Bana covered in dust and tweeted "Last message -- under heavy bombardments now, can't be alive anymore. When we die, keep talking for 200,000 still inside. BYE." Follow up tweets indicated that they were alive but are fighting for their lives. Fatemah, who teaches her children English, studied politics and journalism.
Global News said Aleppo used to be the industrial and commercial area of Syria before 2011 when the rebels started fighting the administration of President Bashar al-Asaad. The United Nations said there are around 16,000 displaced civilians since the renewed bombardment over the weekend. Fatemah, who pleaded for help to get them away from the war-torn land, said it is not only their family that is suffering from the war but also other families in East Aleppo.
