Kim Kardashian Pledges Support to #SaveKessab Campaign

Sex siren Kim Kardashian has thrown her weight behind the #SaveKessab campaign after extremists stormed the Syrian town of Kessab and caused hundreds of ethnic Armenians to flee for their lives.

The Syrian army is trying to retake the town after it was seized by al-Qaida-linked extremists, known as Jabhat Al-Nusr, two weeks ago.

The attack led to hundreds of ethnic Armenians fleeing and has stirred an international outcry with Armenia blaming Turkey for supporting the jihadists.

Armenian MP Arman Saakyan said on Facebook: "All we want is to live. If you ignore our appeal, we will be killed by extremists, same as it happened in Aleppo and other places in the Syrian territory."

Kardashian has waded into crisis by offering her support via social media's #SaveKessab campaign, and tweeted the following message to her 20.4 million Twitter followers:

She joined political figures such as US Democrat Adam Schiff and celebrities Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, actor Jared Leto and Cher, in helping the hashtag trend worldwide.

The Kardashian clan comes from Karakale, a village in eastern Turkey close to the Armenian border.

"I was raised with a huge Armenian influence, always hearing stories of Armenia, celebrating Armenian holidays," she said.

"My father taught us to never forget where we came from."

One of Syria's main rebel groups has welcomed the attention from Kardashian.

"We are glad Kim Kardashian is taking an interest in this issue, as we too are concerned about extremist groups' persecution of minorities," Khalid Saleh, a spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition said.

"The Free Syrian Army has put out a statement committed to protecting of citizens of Armenian descent and to maintaining the integrity of their religious sites and protecting them from Assad's attacks and use of indiscriminate fire, which continue against innocent people."

Some tweeters mocked Kardashian's involvement, however. One said: