Where's Bana? Seven-Year-Old Syrian Girl Goes Quiet

Her Twitter account has been silent since Sunday.
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Where's Bana Alabed? The seven year old Syrian Girl's account has gone quiet.
Twitter

A Twitter account belonging to a seven year-old girl depicting life in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo has vanished, amid reports of further advances by Bashar al Assad's army into rebel held territory.

The Syrian Army reportedly regained control of an access road leading to the city's main airport as well as advances on Aleppo's Old City, following days of sustained bombing from the air.

The city has been under siege for almost four years as rebels opposed to al-Assad's regime battled for control, amid insurgencies from ISIS.

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A general view shows rising smoke after strikes on Aleppo city, Syria December 3, 2016
Omar Sanadiki / Reuters
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Syrian government soldiers gather in Al-Haidariya neighbourhood after government forces took control of the area in Aleppo, Syria December 2, 2016.
Omar Sanadiki / Reuters
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Children who came back with their families to inspect their homes, ride a bus in goverment controlled Hanono housing district in Aleppo, Syria December 4, 2016. The poster shows Syria's president Bashar al-Assad and reads in Arabic "Together".
Omar Sanadiki / Reuters

Bana Alabed

Bana Alabed, a seven-year-old Syrian girl in Aleppo who came to public attention on Twitter, had more than 100,000 followers when her account disappeared on Sunday.

We are sure the army is capturing us now. We will see each other another day dear world. Bye.- Fatemah #Aleppo,Bana's account on the Sunday before it vanished

The young girl attracted world attention as images of the war spread on social media.

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A verified twitter account belonging to seven year old Bana Alabed has been silent since Sunday
Twitter

Alabed and her mother Fatemah, who ran her Twitter account, had been posting photos, videos, and status updates about the Syrian civil war, highlighting the impact the conflict has had on civilians.

Tonight we have no house, it's bombed & I got in rubble. I saw deaths and I almost died. - Bana,Bana's account on Nov 27

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling had exchanged tweets with Bana, and sent e-books of her entire Harry Potter series.

In a video sent directly to Rowling, Alabed said: "I am on the run. Now I fear being killed. Please save us."

Love you too, Bana! Thinking of you, keep safe #Aleppohttps://t.co/1l5SJPStEm

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 23, 2016

Bana, this made me so happy! Lots of love to you and your brothers! #StandWithAleppohttps://t.co/ODTivIs5EZ

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 24, 2016

CNN reports the same day Bana sent her last tweet she asked for people's prayers amid fresh bombing.

Under heavy bombardments now. In between death and life now, please keep praying for usBana

Her mother later told CNN their home took a direct hit and put them into the street, but the Twitter account remained active until Sunday.

The news about Bana comes after Anas al-Basha, a 24 year-old clown and entertainer who worked as a clown to bring joy and comfort to children in rebel-held parts of Aleppo, was killed in a missile strike last week.

Basha died in an air strike on Tuesday in the Mashhad neighbourhood, just two months ago after he married.

"He lived to make children laugh and happy in the darkest most dangerous place," Mahmoud al-Basha, who identified himself as Anas' brother, wrote on Facebook.

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An unexploded missile is seen after warcrafts belonging to Syrian army carried out airstrikes on the opposition controlled areas in Aleppo's Sukkeri region, Syria on December 4, 2016.
Getty Images
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Search and rescue team members work at site after warcrafts belonging to Syrian army carried out airstrikes on the opposition controlled areas in Aleppo's Sukkeri region, Syria on December 4, 2016
Getty Images
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Syrian pro-government forces gather in the Myessar district in east Aleppo as they advance to recapture all of the battered second city, on December 4, 2016.
AFP/Getty Images

Syria's army advanced on rebel held area's of Aleppo's Old City on Sunday, while rebel groups have reportedly told the United States they will not abandon shrinking territories.

The Syrian Army has reportedly held about half of the city since Sunday.