World Press Photo winner Abdulmonam Eassa on his reporting in Sudan: 'This is a story that resonates very personally'

Omar, nine years old, with a toy resembling a Kalashnikov rifle, in Omdurman, Sudan, October 30, 2024. ABDULMONAM EASSA FOR LE MONDE

For the past six years, Abdulmonam Eassa has traveled regularly to Sudan. Originally, this 31-year-old photojournalist, who began his career documenting the war in his native Syria, went to Khartoum to observe Sudan's democratic transition after the fall of Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

But Sudan descended into chaos. Now, alongside journalist Eliott Brachet, he documents a country plunged into a brutal conflict since 2023. His photographs capture both the horror and the humanity of Sudanese people struggling to survive. He has just received the prestigious World Press Photo award in the "Stories" category for his report "War in Sudan: A Trapped Nation," completed in October 2024 and December 2025 for Le Monde.

When did you start working in Sudan?

I went there for the first time in December 2020. At that time, I had fled Syria, my home country, and was a refugee in France. I was interested in Sudan because I wanted to understand how its people managed to bring down Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Their revolution, which began in December 2018, inspired the entire region. It was peaceful. I needed to understand how these people managed to stand firm in the face of an army firing live bullets at them, how they succeeded in not turning to violent fighting and maintained a peaceful rage.