She started her career at El Watan newspaper as Algeria’s first female photojournalist and joined Reuters in 1997 documenting the Algerian civil war. Among Bensemra’s first international assignments was the 2000 conflict in Macedonia and the 2003 Iraq war. Since then she has worked across the Middle-East and Africa, covering the referendum in Sudan, the Tunisian uprising and the revolution in Libya, as well as Afghanistan, Syria, Darfur and Somalia.
From 2012 to 2014, Bensemra was Reuters Chief Photographer for Pakistan, based in Islamabad, before moving back to Algiers where she continued to cover breaking news in the Middle-East and Africa. She has travelled several times to Iraq and Syria to document the frontline battle against Islamic State militants in Mosul and Raqqa as well as the humanitarian impact of the conflict and to Bangladesh to document the Rohingya Humanitarian crisis. Since 2018, she has been Chief Photographer for West and Central Africa, based in Senegal. She recently went back to Kabul to document the aftermath of the takeover by the Taliban.
World Press Photo Involvement:
2022 World Press Photo Contest jury member
2018 World Press Photo Contest jury member
