Mohamed Ben Khalifa

Words from his colleagues:

“Mohamed was loved by almost everyone in the freelance community and beyond. He was a peacemaker, bringing everyone around him together, and he was greatly valued for his high-quality work. This is a big loss for Libya, both generally and for its already shrinking freelance community. Sadly, the conditions are worsening for journalists; many have had to flee or change careers due to the violence and a lack of protection.”

- Nader Elgadi

“I still don’t want to believe it. Mohamed’s death is a huge tragedy. He was a true friend, human being and a talented photographer … Mohamed always motivated me to produce stories and photos that show Libya and the Libyan people to the world.”

- Abdurrauf Ben Madi

“I never met anyone like Mohamed: creative, hard-working, independent, ambitious, brave and a very good colleague, who became one of my closest friends. Mohamed was careful and responsible, so when I was told about his death, I kept saying, “It’s not possible” … He was the best photojournalist I ever knew, and he earned it; he had a sharp eye in capturing life and death, beauty and horror, the apparent and the hidden. Mohamed was, like all journalists in Libya and particularly in Tripoli, always worried about the insecurity and the arbitrariness facing journalists. But when we were returning from a recent trip, he said to me: ‘What’s important in life if not to leave a good impact and a valuable trace on people?’”

- Zuhair Abusrewil

“In his energy, ambition, courage and quality of work, Mohamed went so far – further than all of us here – in the field of photojournalism.”

- Taha Jawashi

“It’s so tragic to lose such a good friend and one of the most talented photographers in the country. We all admired his work during the years we got to know him. He loved what he was doing, and I believe he became a professional quickly; his work grabbed the attention of many who worked in the media. The Libyan community has felt very sad about his loss. The safety of journalists and photographers here is complicated and needs to be taken into consideration. In my opinion, that complicated environment is an obstacle to many photographers being able to do their best in the field.”

- Muhanned Gheith

“Mohamed was very loved by all his friends and colleagues. He was always smiling and welcoming. His death is a very big loss for Libya and for the photojournalism field in Libya.”

- Bashar Shglila

Some of his work:

Mohamed’s career is rooted in photojournalism, and much of his most powerful work is tied to agency assignments. Because those images are licensed to AP, AFP and Reuters, they’re not available for display on our site — you can view his agency portfolio here.

This page, however, is for the projects we can share: personal stories, commissioned features and editorial pieces that showcase the breadth of his vision outside agency restrictions.