Slideshow: 30 years of Reuters photographs. Part two: 1995-2005

[ Click here to see part one: Reuters 1985-1995 ]

In celebration of their 30^th anniversary, the Reuters international news picture service has collected some of their most profound and haunting photographs of the last three decades.

The second of our three galleries covers news events from 1995 to 2005 and captures some of that decades defining moments, from the attacks on September 11^th 2001 to the ongoing wars in the Middle East.

The gallery and stories below contain images that some might find distressing.

Below, two of the featured photographers describe how their images came about and why they still have resonance around the world today.

Photographer Yannis Behrakis on the story behind this image

An Albanian man carries a child to a US Marine CH53 Super Stallion helicopter as it lands at Golame beach near the port of Durres in March 1997. Yannis Behrakis was one of the few journalists covering the scene.

"I was covering the unrest in Albania following the pyramid scheme failures. Albanian civilians had lost $1.2 billion and Albania descended into civil disorder and violence. The government was toppled and 2,000 people were killed."

"My late colleague Kurt Schork and I were the only members of the press staying in a hotel where the armed owner protected us from bandits who would rob every journalist who dared to come alone to cover the story. The owner insisted on placing Kalashnikovs and hand grenades in the closets of our rooms "to protect ourselves if needed," as he said."

"On March 16 we drove to Golame beach where two U.S. helicopters had landed, kicking off a blizzard of sand as hundreds of desperate Albanians gathered in the area, hoping to get a lift out of the country. Blinded by the sand I shot a few pictures when an Albanian man holding his child ran towards the helicopter. About a dozen U.S. Marines jumped off the Super Stallion and pointed their M-16 assault rifles at the Albanians."

"The man with the child was begging the soldiers to let him in onboard. The Marines were clearly surprised by the crowd and asked me what was going on, and if I saw any foreigners trying to leave. I explained that these people were just desperate and wanted to leave Albania, and that they thought the helicopters were there to take them to safety. The situation was getting out of control and a few warning shots were fired and people were beaten back with rifle butts."

Photographer Ahmed Jadallah on the story behind this image

Unidentified bodies lie on a street in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip after a tank shell hit a crowd of people in March 2003. Photographer Ahmed Jadallah was among those caught in the blast.

"I was with a Reuters multimedia team to cover incursion a big Israeli incursion to the Gaza Strip. The Israeli tanks had started to withdraw when there was a big fire in one of the buildings due to an air strike."

"As I was shooting pictures at the site amongst a crowd of people a tank shell hit us. At least 14 people were dead and many wounded, including me. I had been hit with shrapnel that ripped apart my lower leg. I collapsed on the floor."

"At that particular moment I felt like dying and sinking into a big hole in the ground, motionless. I didn't stop thinking of my family and I could see people next to me fighting to survive, while some were already dead."

"It all happened in a matter of seconds. Somehow, in the middle of all this, I took three pictures without looking directly through my camera. Don't ask me how I did that! Two frames were out of focus and one in focus. This picture won first prize in the World Press Photo spot news category."