Life in the sticks of rural Idlib - in pictures

Residents resort to collecting firewood from the mountains as cost of heating materials soars

A group of Syrian youths take a break from collecting firewood among the mountains in the village of Ghafar, rural Idlib, north-west Syria. All photos: Moawia Atrash for The National

All photos: Moawia Atrash for The National

A group of Syrian youths take a break from collecting firewood among the mountains in the village of Ghafar, rural Idlib, north-west Syria.

Hamad Younis, 13 years old, uses an axe to extract firewood from underneath rocks. "The firewood I collect is enough for only one day in the winter, so I need to collect firewood on the mountain everyday," he says.

Ahmed Mabrouk, 15 years old, says he goes out every morning with his brother to collect firewood from the mountains. They are unable to buy any wood because of its high price.

Hussein Musa Siyad, 18, hopes to return to his studies one day.

Hamad Younis, 13, with his friend Hassan Al-Shaman, stacks firewood on a donkey's back to transport it home.

Hamad and his friends make their way back home. "One day I will be able to take my donkeys to school," he says.

Adel Abu Muhammad, 63, cuts the firewood that his children bring back from the mountains daily.

Adel says he is unable to climb the mountains and collect firewood due to old age, so now his children have to do it.