UPDATE: 2:10 p.m. ― Later on Monday, Bana Alabed’s Twitter account was back up online. It’s still not clear why it disappeared.
PREVIOUSLY: A seven-year-old Syrian girl’s Twitter account has mysteriously shut down.
Bana Alabed’s Twitter account had gained more than 100,000 followers since she and her mother Fatemah began tweeting about their experiences in the war-torn city of Aleppo in September.
Their documentation of the shocking daily ordeals they faced in the rebel-held eastern part of the city even caught the attention of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who sent the youngster the full set of her fantasy novels after learning she was a fan.
But on Sunday, multiple media outlets reported that the mother and daughter’s account had suddenly vanished from the micro-blogging service. Clicking on the handle now brings up a page that states, “Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!”
According to CNN, the duo’s last tweet read: “We are sure the army is capturing us now. We will see each other another day dear world. Bye. - Fatemah #Aleppo.”
As of early Monday, there was no indication of what had happened to the pair, nor what exactly had caused the Twitter account to vanish.
Concerned fellow tweeters expressed their fears via the #WhereIsBana hashtag.
Rowling herself also retweeted several posts from the Free Syria Media Hub’s account:
While some had questioned whether the Twitter account was real, Fatemah, who is a teacher, gave a video interview with the BBC in October. She called the accusations “disappointing.”
“All the words come from the heart,” she said. “All are the truth.”
