John Wessels received second place in the « Photographer of the Year » category for his work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

His photo series « The path to elections », dedicated to the election in the country, won third place in the “News Picture Story” category. After two years of postponed elections, violent protest which made hundreds dead, the outgoing President Joseph Kabila agrees to hold elections.

John Wessels began his career as a photojournalist in 2014 and joined AFP in 2016. He has been based in Kinshasa since 2017. His work has mainly focused on humanitarian crises across the country.

Abdulmonam Eassa has been awarded and given third place in the “Spot News”

for his picture showing a Syrian man carrying a baby while fleeing Syrian air force strikes in the city of Saqba, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta region.

Abdulmonam Eassa interrupted his studies in Damascus. He couldn’t leave his hometown, at a time when the regime's forces started its headquarters in his city, he started its collaboration with the AFP in 2015. Wounded three times, he documented in text, pictures and video the last bombing in the oriental Ghouta, before an agreement with the regime that allowed them to leave the region.