We're so used to seeing bikini selfies and plugs for her E! reality show that many of us were left surprised when Kim Kardashian, 33, took to Twitter in a bid to address her followers about the Syria crisis.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star called on her 20 million Twitter followers to help her save an ancient Christian Armenian village, which is currently at the centre of a fierce battle between president Bashir Assad's troops and rebel fighters.

Echoing claims that churches have been trashed since the opposition seized control of the village of Kessab last month, she wrote: “If you don’t know what’s going on in Kessab please Google it.

"As an Armenian, I grew up hearing so many painful stories."

"Please let’s not let history repeat itself!!!!!! Let’s get this trending!!!! #SaveKessab #ArmenianGenocide.”

Her second hashtag refers to the massacre of around 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman forces in the early 20th century.

However there appears to have been something of a backlash following her Twitter outburst, with some accusing her of being part of a stealth social media campaign backing Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

The mum-of-one’s publicist, meanwhile, Ina Treciokas last night said that Kim, who is of Armenian heritage, was “just voicing her support for Armenians”.