A Syrian father has taught his daughter to laugh at plane and bomb sounds as a game to make her less scared of frequent explosions in the war-torn province of Idlib.

Abdullah Al-Mohammad was inspired to teach his three-year-old daughter Salwa to laugh when she hears bomb explosions after he helped her to overcome her fear of fireworks by explaining they were just used for fun.

A video posted on social media of the pair playing the game has been viewed more than two million times and drawn comparisons to the Roberto Benigni film Life Is Beautiful, in which a Jewish father shields his son from the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp.

Mr Al-Mohammad and his daughter are currently living at a friend’s house in the town of Sarmada in Idlib after being forced to flee their home in Saraqib due to the ongoing Syrian civil war.

“There was a lot of bombardment. The children were suffering from psychological problems and nervous breakdowns because of the bombings,” the father told The Turkish Independent.

Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in Show all 8 1 /8 Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in Displaced Syrian children sit in a small truck, as they head to the area where their family and others will settle in, after fleeing violence of Maarat al-Numan town EPA Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in epa08100426 Displaced Syrian children look on as adults set up tents, after fleeing violence of Maarat al-Numan town, near the Turkish border, Northern Syria, 28 December 2019 (issued 03 January 2020). According to various media reports, some 30,000 people have left Maarat al-Numan, considered as the last strong hold of rebels in northern Syria. The number of the displaced, allegedly reached this figure by 24 December, almost emptying the devastated city from its inhabitants, who fled air strikes and heavy shelling. The Internally displace people fled towards the Turkish border, with many of them building unofficial camps in difficult terrain and wintery weather, reports said. EPA/YAHYA NEMAH YAHYA NEMAH EPA Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in epa08100437 A Displaced Syrian child sits in a small truck, upon arriving to the area where her family and others will settle in, after fleeing violence of Maarat al-Numan town, near the Turkish border, Northern Syria, 28 December 2019 (issued 03 January 2020). According to various media reports, some 30,000 people have left Maarat al-Numan, considered as the last strong hold of rebels in northern Syria. The number of the displaced, allegedly reached this figure by 24 December, almost emptying the devastated city from its inhabitants, who fled air strikes and heavy shelling. The Internally displace people fled towards the Turkish border, with many of them building unofficial camps in difficult terrain and wintery weather, reports said. EPA/YAHYA NEMAH YAHYA NEMAH EPA Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in epa08100448 Displaced Syrian children look on from inside a tent upon arriving to the area where her family and others will settle in, after fleeing violence of Maarat al-Numan town, near the Turkish border, Northern Syria, 28 December 2019 (issued 03 January 2020). According to various media reports, some 30,000 people have left Maarat al-Numan, considered as the last strong hold of rebels in northern Syria. The number of the displaced, allegedly reached this figure by 24 December, almost emptying the devastated city from its inhabitants, who fled air strikes and heavy shelling. The Internally displace people fled towards the Turkish border, with many of them building unofficial camps in difficult terrain and wintery weather, reports said. EPA/YAHYA NEMAH YAHYA NEMAH EPA Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in epa08100436 Displaced Syrians carry rocks as they clear an area to set up tents, after fleeing violence of Maarat al-Numan town, near the Turkish border, Northern Syria, 28 December 2019 (issued 03 January 2020). According to various media reports, some 30,000 people have left Maarat al-Numan, considered as the last strong hold of rebels in northern Syria. The number of the displaced, allegedly reached this figure by 24 December, almost emptying the devastated city from its inhabitants, who fled air strikes and heavy shelling. The Internally displace people fled towards the Turkish border, with many of them building unofficial camps in difficult terrain and wintery weather, reports said. EPA/YAHYA NEMAH YAHYA NEMAH EPA Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in epa08100444 The muddy plastic shoes of a little girl upon arriving to the area, where her family and others will settle in, after fleeing violence of Maarat al-Numan town, near the Turkish border, Northern Syria, 28 December 2019 (issued 03 January 2020). According to various media reports, some 30,000 people have left Maarat al-Numan, considered as the last strong hold of rebels in northern Syria. The number of the displaced, allegedly reached this figure by 24 December, almost emptying the devastated city from its inhabitants, who fled air strikes and heavy shelling. The Internally displace people fled towards the Turkish border, with many of them building unofficial camps in difficult terrain and wintery weather, reports said. EPA/YAHYA NEMAH YAHYA NEMAH EPA Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in epa08100447 Displaced Syrian children sit in a small truck next to bed covers and floor spreads, upon arriving to the area where their family and others will settle in, after fleeing violence of Maarat al-Numan town, near the Turkish border, Northern Syria, 28 December 2019 (issued 03 January 2020). According to various media reports, some 30,000 people have left Maarat al-Numan, considered as the last strong hold of rebels in northern Syria. The number of the displaced, allegedly reached this figure by 24 December, almost emptying the devastated city from its inhabitants, who fled air strikes and heavy shelling. The Internally displace people fled towards the Turkish border, with many of them building unofficial camps in difficult terrain and wintery weather, reports said. EPA/YAHYA NEMAH YAHYA NEMAH EPA Syrians forced to flee Maarat al-Numan as Assad forces move in epa08100441 Displaced Syrians clear an area to set up tents, after fleeing violence of Maarat al-Numan town, near the Turkish border, Northern Syria, 28 December 2019 (issued 03 January 2020). According to various media reports, some 30,000 people have left Maarat al-Numan, considered as the last strong hold of rebels in northern Syria. The number of the displaced, allegedly reached this figure by 24 December, almost emptying the devastated city from its inhabitants, who fled air strikes and heavy shelling. The Internally displace people fled towards the Turkish border, with many of them building unofficial camps in difficult terrain and wintery weather, reports said. EPA/YAHYA NEMAH YAHYA NEMAH EPA

“I sought solutions to make these bombardments a source of happiness, not fear, for the child,” he added.

“I taught [her] that it wasn't scary and she should laugh. She thinks the sounds of bombs are toy weapons.”

About 700,000 people have fled towns and cities in Idlib since December following an offensive launched by Bashar al-Assad’s regime, according to the United Nations.

However, some families who have fled their homes have found there is no shelter available to them.

“Thousands of people are here in the streets. If you walk around you can see them. They have no plan and no idea what to do,” Fayyad Akoush, a Syrian activist, told The Independent last week.

“No one is helping us. The whole world watches us while we die. We are just waiting for the shells to fall on us.”

David Swanson, the UN’s regional spokesperson for the Syria crisis, has warned that the crisis is “spiralling out of control”.