(London) Ethiopian journalist Solan Kolli, who works with AFP in Ethiopia, on Tuesday won the prestigious Rory Peck Prize, which is awarded each year to the best freelance journalist reporters (JRI), for his coverage of the devastating war in Tigray .
Solan Kolli, 32, was honored in the news category for his report “The cost of war”, highlighting in particular the massacres of civilians on a large scale during this conflict little covered in the media.
The jury praised “a powerful and sober approach to what was happening in Tigray”, where AFP was one of the first independent media to gain access after the launch, in November 2020, of a military operation by the Ethiopian government against TPLF dissidents in this northern region of Ethiopia.
“His work was daring and courageous, with discreet interviews, thus placing in the spotlight a conflict taking place in a region which is very difficult to access”, underlined the judges.
Solan Kolli, who has been covering Ethiopia on video for seven years, notably brought back the first images of mass graves in Mai-Kadra, where hundreds of civilians were massacred a year ago, as well as the first interviews with residents. terrified of Humera, the target of artillery fire by Ethiopian federal troops, AFP said in a statement at the award ceremony.
“This award touches me a lot, because it is the proof that my efforts succeeded in shedding light (on these events) in the midst of a communications blackout and making the voice of war victims in Ethiopia heard beyond the borders. », Reacted the reporter.
He dedicated this award to “all the victims of war across the world, especially those courageous children, women and men in northern Ethiopia whose suffering is exposed in my subjects.”
“Solan Kolli deserves this award,” said Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s chief information officer, in a statement. “His courageous and essential work for AFP has helped reveal the real story on the ground in Tigray. The quality of his images speaks for itself. This is the highest quality public service journalism, ”he added.
This is the fifth time since 2014 that an AFP employee has won the Rory Peck Prize, launched in 1995 by the eponymous foundation, created in memory of Rory Peck, an independent videographer killed in Moscow in 1993.
This prestigious prize rewards the best independent image reporters in the news world. The award ceremony is one of the foundation’s main fundraising events.