Thursday 21 April 2011

Two photojournalists killed covering war in Libya


British photojournalist Tim Hetherington (pictured), an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and photographer, is reported to have been killed in the city of Misrata while covering fighting between Gaddafi's forces and Libyan rebels in a rocket-propelled grenade attack.

Chris Hondros, a US Pulitzer Prize-nominated photojournalist, was also killed in the attack in Misrata, and British photographer Guy Martin injured.

Born in Liverpool in 1970, Hetherington, 40, was nominated for an Oscar this year for Restrepo, a documentary film he made with the journalist Sebastian Junger about soldiers on the frontline in Afghanistan. He also won World Press Photo in 2008 with a still image from the same location in Afghanistan, shot while on assignment for Vanity Fair.

Hondros was based in New York for Getty Images and had covered conflict zones since the late 1990s including Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Martin, who was working with Panos Pictures agency, was hit by shrapnel and is being treated at a hospital in Misrata. New York-based photographer Michael Christopher Brown was also treated for shrapnel injuries.

Joel Simon, executive director of the Committeee to Protect Journalists, said: " Our hearts go out to family, friends, and colleagues of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, whose work in some of the world's most dangerous places has had a profound impact on how we understand and perceive war. Their deaths are another illustration of war's cruelty and a reminder of how devastatingly difficult coverage of the Libyan conflict has become."

According to the CPJ, two other journalists have been killed this year in the Libyan conflict. An unknown gunman killed Mohammed al-Nabbous, founder of the online Libya Al-Hurra TV, as the journalist was streaming live audio from a battle in Benghazi on March 19. Cameraman Ali Hassan al-Jaber was shot when his Al-Jazeera crew was ambushed near Benghazi on March 13.

CPJ has documented more than 80 attacks on the press since political unrest erupted in Libya in February. They include the fatalities, numerous injuries, 49 detentions, 11 assaults, two attacks on news facilities, the jamming of two international television transmissions, at least four instances of obstruction, the expulsion of two international journalists, and the interruption of Internet service. At least six local journalists are missing amid speculation they are in the custody of security forces. One international journalist and two media support workers are also unaccounted for.


  • A photo by Chris Hondros ran on the front page of the Washington Post yesterday.

3 comments:

prasad said...

This is says that Libya is not safe at this time foreigners who are living Libya now they have to leave that country unless they cant live safely because now Libya has no leadership the other countries have to try to discuss with the Libyan government and opposition leaders to bring them for peace talks.

jb007 said...

Their deaths are another illustration of war's cruelty and a reminder of how devastatingly difficult coverage of the Libyan conflict has become."

prasad said...

This is ridiculous this shows that now the situation in Libya i think these incidents will continue until Libyan government fell down international community should think on Libya how to solve this problem and surrounding countries of Libya have to try to solve this problem mainly the government immediately resign and put elections.