Young Syrian parkour enthusiasts practice acrobatic moves and backflips in the Syrian town of Ariha, located in the rebel-held province of Idlib (northwest).
“We feel reborn when we practice parkour, we are creating something out of nothing,” says parkour team leader Ahmed al-Sawas, “I like this sport because it is full of adventures," adds his 11-year-old brother Hadi.
Since the start of the war in Syria in 2011, regime forces have regularly targeted residential neighborhoods in military attacks on opposition strongholds.
The Idleb region is home to around three million people, two-thirds of whom are displaced from other parts of Syria.
The jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Cham, a former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, and its allies control about half of the province as well as parts of neighboring provinces.
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The region has been under a ceasefire since March 2020, following a three-month regime offensive that displaced nearly a million people, according to the UN.
Since June 2021, regime forces have intensified their shelling of the southern region.
More than 11 years after the start of the war, the region of Idlib, the last rebel bastion escaping the power of Damascus, remains in the sights of the regime.
The conflict in Syria, triggered in 2011 by the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations by Damascus, has left nearly 500,000 dead and forced millions to flee.
“We feel a real relief when we practice parkour in these areas because, as I said, we don't have dedicated parkour places, or places where we can let ourselves go.
This is due to the war and the pressure we have suffered here in Syria,” says Ahmed al-Sawas.
