Quweiq River's Massacre

PhotographerJM Lopez
Prize3rd Place in Press
Entry Description

On January 29, 2013 the bodies of at least 68 unidentified young men and boys, all executed with a single gunshot to the head or neck, were found in the Quweiq River, which separates the Bustan al-Qasr district from Ansari in the southwest of Aleppo, in a rebel-held area, adding to the grim list of massacres committed during Syria's war. One month and a half later more than 30 bodies were found at the same place and in the same way. Syria's opposition charged that 'global inaction' was giving Bashar al-Assad's regime a license to kill.

About Photographer

I am an independent Spanish photographer who is focused on issues having to do with social conflicts and injustice in the world and I would like to think that my work can help to improve lives of the people who I photograph. After studying Photography at the School of Arts of Oviedo (Spain) I was working as a staff photographer for eleven years in “La Cronica de Leon”, a local newspaper of my city, until 2009. I have worked documenting issues in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Iran, Kosovo, Haiti, Guatemala, Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine, Venezuela, and DR Congo among others. During the last two years I have been covering the Syrian war, South Sudan conflict, Somalia and Iraq as a regular contributor for Agence France-Presse (AFP). My work have been shown in both individual and collective exhibitions and published in the most important media around the world such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El País, Der Spiegel and L’espresso among others.