Aleppo Evacuation Update: Bana Alabed, 7-Year-Old Syrian Twitter Dispatcher, And Countless Children Rescued

Update: 2:54 p.m. EST – Alabed tweeted on Monday after safely fleeing from her home in the eastern region of Aleppo, writing, “I escaped from East #Aleppo,” signing the tweet with her name. Her mother later tweeted Monday, “Let’s now join together for peace across Syria like you did for Aleppo,” signing her name as well.

Original story:

Bana Alabed, the seven-year-old girl who became famous for her dispatches from Aleppo during the Syrian conflict, safely evacuated the besieged city along with thousands of other children, a Turkish humanitarian group reported Monday.

Evacuations resumed in Aleppo after a weekend of continued attacks against the city’s 150,000 remaining residents. By Monday, thousands of men, women and children arrived by bus to al Rashideen, a northern rebel-held countryside where humanitarian organizations were waiting with resources. Alabed and her family were among those who safely fled Aleppo after rebel forces occupying the city set evacuation buses on fire.

Alabed became an online symbol for the thousands of children trapped in between international fighting forces in the war-torn city of Aleppo. She and her mother Fatemah, who controlled the pair’s social media handles, utilized Twitter and Periscope to report from the ground in real-time. The two connected with largely followed online voices like J.K. Rowling, who sent the young girl books and helped raised awareness over the family’s plight online, as well as millions across the globe.

Over recent weeks, Alabed and her mother’s messages to their 392,000 Twitter followers have grown even more harrowing, as a ceasefire brokered between Iran, Russia and Syrian forces failed to go on as promised, as humanitarian organizations reported ambulances and volunteers were attacked and civilians were shot at. "My name is Bana, I’m 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo," the account tweeted Dec. 13, signed this time by Bana. "This is my last moment to either live or die."

Her mother shared personal messages as well, writing the next day, "Dear world, there’s intense bombing right now. Why are you silent? Why? Why? Why? Why? Fear is killing me and my kids. – Fatemah."

The continued confusion on the ground over a ceasefire deal comes as the United Nations is set for a vote on whether security personnel should be deployed into the region to ensure evacuations go on safely. As of early Monday morning, reports seemed to indicate buses were able to finally flee Aleppo, with countless children just like Alabed making their way to safety.