Twitter account of Sudan's 'Nubian Queen' found to be run by fans

Alaa Saleh has become the defining image of Sudan's massive demonstrations

Alaa Saleh, a 22-year-old engineering student has become the face of Sudan's demonstrations. AFP

Alaa Saleh chants with protesters. AFP

In the clips and photos, Saleh stands atop a car wearing a long white headscarf and skirt as she sings and works the crowd. AFP

To the refrain of "revolution" shouted by the crowd, the slender Ms Saleh chanted: "They burned us in the name of religion, killed us in the name of religion, jailed us in the name of religion."

Dubbed online as "Kandaka", or Nubian queen, she has become a symbol of the protests. AFP

Alaa Saleh poses with fellow protesters. AFP

The image of the 22-year-old engineering student from Khartoum, Sudan's capital, was taken on Monday by another woman, Lana Haroun. AFP

Alaa Saleh speaks to protesters from the top of a car. AFP

The now iconic image of Alaa Saleh captured by Lana Haroun. Reuters

A Twitter account claiming to be owned by the young Sudanese protester dubbed "Karnaka", or Nubian queen, has been exposed as being nothing but a fan-run account.

The account garnered about 50,000 followers since a photo of Alaa Saleh leading protests in Khartoum went viral.

The account has now scrubbed any evidence of claiming to be Alaa's and identifies itself as a being operated by her fans. Its following has dropped to about 36,000.

People who contacted the account were told that it is run by admirers who wish to hand over the account to Alaa when she wants it.

The image of the 22-year-old engineering student from Khartoum was taken on Monday by another woman, Lana Haroun.

A video shared online shows Ms Saleh performing a graceful dance, a mere hint of a sway to accompany her chanting, which gave heart to the thousands of people staging a sit-in outside the headquarters of the armed forces in the Sudanese capital, in a bid to persuade generals to remove the president, Omar Al Bashir.

Mr Al Bashir was forced out by the military on Thursday, ending three decades in power since he led a 1989 military coup backed by Islamists.