Bronze 2017 / Editorial / Conflict

The battle for Sirte, the beginning of the end of Isis caliphate

  • Photographer
    Ricardo Garcia Vilanova
  • Agency / Studio
    Freelance
  • Prizes
    Bronze in Editorial/Conflict

The entries proposed feature the battle and defeat of Daesh in the stronghold of Sirte, bringing relief for 80,000 inhabitants after a 7-month battle that left most of the town in rubble, where 711 Libyan fighters have been killed, 3,200 have been wounded and 1800 Daesh fighters are reported dead. This battle has a strategic importance because of its tribal make-up, proxim¬ity to the oil terminals and the South of Europe but also because it is revealing sign of the crumbling of the so-called caliphate and it clearly damages Daesh’s ability to show it is expanding globally. It is represents the deprive of a foothold outside Iraq and Syria, where the battle is still far from being over.

Freelance photographer for 15 years. Specialized in conflict zones and humanitarian crises. During the last few years he has covered the Arab springs , the ISIS conflict and continues today with several trips a year focused on Libya, Syria and Iraq, he has also worked on Other countries such as Afghanistan, CAR, Nigeria, Niger, Chad,Sudan, Haiti, Palestine, Yemen. Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Bolivia, among others.