Journalists from Russia, Syria & India win RT’s Khaled Alkhateb International Memorial Awards for warzone reporting

Reports from Syria and a story on Afghans living in refugee camps in Iran were honored at RT’s Khaled Alkhateb International Memorial Awards, which pay tribute to journalists working in conflict areas.

Mohamed Ali has been covering the civil war in Syria since it first erupted in 2011. He was honored for a report for Iran’s Press TV from Syria’s Idlib province on the ever-fragile ceasefire there.

Ali said that the award means a lot to him, noting: “It means that my words are being heard, my reports are being seen, and my work is being appreciated.” He added that it is important to pay tribute to journalists risking their lives in war zones.

Alexander Konevich of Russia’s NTV channel won an award for a series of news stories, also from Syria. As a field reporter for the channel’s daily ‘Segodnya’ (Today) program, he covered the fierce battles against the militants in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib. His segments also featured the delivery of humanitarian aid and operations by the Russian army.

Independent journalist Ruchi Kumar received an award for a story published in Foreign Policy magazine in January. Originally from India, Kumar has been living in Kabul and detailing the plight of Afghan refugees. Her piece described the struggles of the Afghans in the refugee camps in neighboring Iran, many of whom face detention and deportation to their home country.

Kumar said she was honored by the award for a story that was “a combination of a work of a lot of people.” She thanked fellow reporter Hikmat Noori, who helped her with the piece. “I’m very lucky I get to work with some very talented and strong-spirited Afghans who possibly deserve this award way more than I do,” Kumar added.

The annual Khaled Awards are named after young freelance journalist Khaled Alkhateb, who reported for RT Arabic from Syria. In 2017, he was killed by a shell launched by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in the city of Homs.

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