{"id":20130637,"date":"2026-04-09T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20130637"},"modified":"2026-04-09T12:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:52:23","slug":"rare-images-of-sudan-war-lauded-in-2026-world-press-photo-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/rare-images-of-sudan-war-lauded-in-2026-world-press-photo-contest","title":{"rendered":"Rare images of Sudan war reap Africa laurels in 2026 World Press Photo Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Syrian-French photojournalist Abdulmonam Eassa has been named as one of the winners in the 2026 World Press Photo Contest, for emotive images captured in Sudan while covering the war for the French magazine Le Monde<\/em><\/strong>, making him eligible to win the 2026 World Press Photo of the Year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Syrian-French photojournalist Abdulmonam Eassa<\/a><\/em>
(Photo: \u00a9 Claude Truong-Ngoc \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Damacus-based Syrian-French photojournalist Abdulmonam Eassa<\/a> has been named as the regional winner for Africa on the \u2018Stories\u2019 category of the 2026 World Press Photo Contest<\/a>, which recognises and celebrates the best photojournalism and documentary photography produced over the last year, \u201cconnecting the world to the stories that matter by presenting the outstanding work of photojournalists and documentary photographers from across the globe\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eassa\u2019s winning entry is a set of four images taken in Sudan, while covering a series of features for the French magazine Le Monde<\/em><\/a> entitled: War in Sudan: A Trapped Nation<\/em><\/a>. Frontline images like this are rare, due to heavily restricted access for journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a portrait (see main picture), Alhaja Abdallah, a displaced woman from Bara, shows her scars from a fire at El Mohad camp. Pictures from Sudan\u2019s second most populous city Omdurman, shows how students take exams at the war-damaged Omdurman Islamic University. Another image shows a group of soldiers passing through a damaged market in Omdurman, while a fourth shows a soldier descending from a building during fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A group of soldiers passes through a damaged market in Sudan\u2019s second most populous city, a site of continuous fighting since April 2023. Omdurman, Sudan, 25 October 2024 (Photo: \u00a9 Abdulmonam Eassa, for Le Monde via World Press Photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The category winners were announced by organisers World Press Photo in Amsterdam today. Entries were judged first by six independent regional juries, and the winners were then chosen by a global jury consisting of the regional jury chairs plus the global jury chair.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A soldier descends from a building during fighting in Omdurman, Sudan, 1 November 2024
(Photo: \u00a9 Abdulmonam Eassa, for Le Monde via World Press Photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The regional contest model, launched in 2021, supports a greater diversity of stories and storytellers from around the world. This year, 31 out of the 42 winners are local to the region they have photographed. Compared to the 2025 Contest, there were 11per cent more entrants from South America, and 14 per cent more entrants from Asia-Pacific and Oceania. Women and non-binary photographers also made up 22 per cent of contest entries. This reflects a steady increase since the regional contest model was introduced, World Press Photo says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Students take exams at the war-damaged Omdurman Islamic University. Schools and universities have been attacked and mostly closed since fighting began. Omdurman, Sudan, 4 December 2025<\/em> (Photo: \u00a9 Abdulmonam Eassa, for Le Monde via World Press Photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Previous winners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, A picture by Sudanese photographer Mosab Abushama, taken using just a mobile phone, was selected as one of the regional winners for Africa. The picture, entitled Life Won\u2019t Stop<\/a><\/em>, shows a bridegroom at his wedding in Omdurman, and illustrates how life in Sudan goes on, \u201cdespite the clashes and random shelling in the city\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This picture was selected as a finalist in the \u2018Singles Africa\u2019 category, showing a bridegroom at his wedding on January 12, 2024, in Omdurman, a city under constant shelling and attacks. In Sudan, announcing a wedding with celebratory gunfire is a tradition. (Photo: Mosab Abushama \/ World Press Photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In 2022, Sudanese photographer Faiz Abubakr Mohamed<\/a> was named as the winner in the \u2018singles\u2019 category for Africa, with a picture of a woman protestor hurling a teargas cannister back at riot police during the pro-democracy protests in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sudanese photographer Faiz Abubakr Mohamed was named as the winner in the \u2018singles\u2019 category for Africa in 2022<\/a>. Mohamed\u2019s winning picture shows a woman protestor hurling a teargas cannister back at riot police during the pro-democracy protests in 2021<\/em> (via World Press Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In 2020, an image by Japanese Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba of a young man, illuminated by mobile phones, reciting protest poetry while demonstrators chant slogans calling for civilian rule during a blackout in Khartoum on June 19 2019<\/a>, was named as World Press Photo of the Year, and created worldwide awareness of the plight, struggle, and indomitable spirit of the Sudanese people.<\/p>\n\n\n

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World Press Photo of the Year 2020<\/a>: A young man recites a poem, illuminated by mobile phones, before the opposition’s direct dialog with people in Khartoum on June 19, 2019 (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA \/ AFP via World Press Photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The overall winner of the 2026 World Press Photo of the Year and two finalists will be announced online and at a live press opening of the Flagship World Press Photo Exhibition 2026<\/a> at De Nieuwe Kerk, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands on 23 April. The awarded stories will be shown to millions of people as part of the annual World Press Photo traveling exhibition<\/a> in over 60 locations around the world.<\/p>\n