美军空投50吨弹药援叙反对派

 　　PENTAGON—Syrian government troops advanced under cover of Russian airstrikes Monday as the United States airdropped 50 tons of small arms ammunition¹ to rebels in northern Syria.

　　In the heaviest fighting in weeks, government forces battled rebels in a strategic area in the central province of Hama, hoping to regain² the Sahl al-Ghab plain.

　　The fighting was focused on the village of Kfar Nabudeh with Syria’s army command saying it had captured the village, extending its advance toward the key Damascus/Aleppo Highway.

　　Activists³ say the rebels repelled⁵ the attack, and the Syrian Observatory⁶ for Human Rights called the clashes the “fiercest” since the Russian air campaign began in late September.

　　Russia's Defense⁷ Ministry⁸ says its aircraft hit 53 targets in Hama, Homes, Latakia and Idlib provinces over the past 24 hours.

　　US Airdrops 50 Tons of Munitions⁹ to Syrian Rebels

　　Meanwhile, the U.S.-led, anti-Islamic State coalition¹⁰ forces continued to strike Islamic State group (IS) targets Monday, destroying terrorist tactical units near al-Hasakah and Washiya. The coalition conducted 18 strikes in Iraq, including near Bayji, Fallujah and Mosul, according to the U.S. Central Command, which overseas U.S. forces in the Middle East.

　　New 'normal'

　　The U.S. airdrop of small arms Sunday reached “Syrian Arab groups whose leaders were appropriately vetted¹¹ by the United States and have been fighting to remove ISIL,” said coalition spokesman Colonel Steve Warre, using an acronym¹² for IS fighters, who also known as ISIS and Daesh. He would not give further details about the groups or their locations in Syria due to “operational security.”

　　A U.S. defense official described the airdrop as a new “normal” occurrence that coalition forces would continue to conduct “as needed.”

　　The airdrop supports the Pentagon’s recent decision to “pause” its failed Syrian rebel train and equip program. Instead of training and equipping moderate rebel fighters outside of Syria, White House officials announced Friday the program would ramp¹³ up materiel support to trusted units fighting on Syrian battlefields, while training only rebel leaders in Turkey.

　　The drop is a reminder¹⁴ of an operation last year when U.S. forces airdropped supplies to Syrian Kurds battling Islamic State forces for the town of Kobani. The group was able to successfully repel⁴ IS fighters from the town.

　　“This airdrop seeks to build on the success those forces have had clearing ISIL from Syrian territory,” Warren said.

　　UN envoy¹⁵ in Moscow, Washington

　　The U.N.'s special envoy for the Syria crisis, who is tasked with bringing warring factions¹⁶ in Syria to the negotiating table, told a news conference on Monday he would hold talks in Russia on Tuesday before heading to Washington, in an effort to forge an understanding between the two countries that are both conducting offensives in Syria.

　　Staffan de Mistura said that while in Russia he also plans to discuss the evacuation of 46 severely¹⁷ wounded people and their family members from a rebel stronghold on the border with Lebanon, along with another 92 wounded people and their families in government-held villages in the northwest. De Mistura is also slated¹⁸ to discuss a number of other issues related to the conflict and its escalation¹⁹ since Moscow's stepped-up military action in Syria. He says he will leave for Washington immediately after to confer with officials about the crisis and ways to get peace negotiations²⁰ back on track.

　　On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said advances have been made in working with Washington on fighting in Syria.

　　"We still don't 100 percent share the same view on the situation up to every step with our partners in the region, with the Americans, with our other colleagues, but we absolutely have progress," Lavrov said.

　　EU demands cessation of most Russian strikes

　　The European Council on Monday issued a formal statement demanding that Russia "immediately" end military attacks in Syria that do not target IS or other U.N.-designated terrorist organizations.

　　European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Russia's military action in Syria is a "game-changer" that has "some very worrying elements."

　　Before an EU foreign ministers meeting Monday in Luxembourg, Mogherini said actions against IS militants²¹ have to clearly be carried out against the group and other terrorists defined by the United Nations.

　　She said she believes the European Union, Russia and the United States have common ground in Syria based on U.N. Security Council resolutions and a U.N. framework, but that their action must be coordinated²².

　　Otherwise, she said, there are "extremely dangerous" risks, particularly militarily.

　　On Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama told CBS television's 60 Minutes that Russia's intervention²³ in Syria is aimed at saving Assad's government.

　　"Syria was Russia's only ally in the region," Obama said. "And today, rather than being able to count on their support and maintain the base they had in Syria, which they've had for a long time, Putin now is devoting his own troops, his own military, just to barely hold together by a thread his sole ally."

1 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

2 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

5 repelled   

v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• They repelled the enemy. 他们击退了敌军。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm. 而丁梅斯代尔牧师却哆里哆嗦地断然推开了那老人的胳臂。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

6 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 vetted   

v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的过去式和过去分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• The recruits were thoroughly vetted before they were allowed into the secret service. 情报机关招募的新成员要经过严格的审查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All staff are vetted for links with extremist groups before being employed. 所有职员录用前均须审查是否与极端分子团体有关。 来自辞典例句

12 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

13 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

14 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

15 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

16 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

17 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

18 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

19 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

20 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

21 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

22 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

23 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。