Young Aleppo girl meets Turkish President after evacuation

World Today

Young Aleppo girl meets Turkish President after evacuation

Earlier this week, one of Syria’s younger victims, a 7-year-old girl who has received global attention, was evacuated to Turkey.

On Wednesday, she had an opportunity to personally thank the Turkish President. CCTV America’s Jessica Stone reports.

A trip that ends in the palace of the Turkish president and began with a Twitter account in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, managed by her mother, Fatemah.

@AlabedBana documented Bana’s life in pictures and videos during the Syrian civil war, gaining more than 300,000 followers since September are trying to keep the violence on the minds and in the hearts of those around the world.

Bana’s outreach also caught the attention of critics who questioned how she could speak English so well and why her family had electricity when the city was frequently without power. Even Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad suggested she was part of a propaganda campaign.

But an investigative website called Bellingcat looked into Bana, and verified her story. Earlier this week, Bana was evacuated along with her family and dozens of orphans — all of it documented by journalists.

Turkey welcomed Bana and her family in Ankara with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan releasing these pictures of their trip to the presidential palace on Wednesday. Turkey has supported rebels fighting Syrian President Assad. As for Bana, she’s still using her Twitter account to call for evacuations for the rest of those left behind in eastern Aleppo.