美国有线新闻 CNN 也门政府军与胡塞武装冲突持续 国际航运受影响

也门政府军与胡塞武装冲突持续 国际航运受影响

First, today, we're going to the Middle East, for an update for the war-torn country of Yemen. It's located between Saudi Arabia and the Gulf¹ of Aden. Its location is important because Yemen also borders one of the world's most used shipping² lanes where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden, and its ongoing³ civil war, which flared⁴ up in 2011, could have an impact on international shipping.

Ninety-nine percent of Yemen's 28 million people are Muslim, but there are religious divisions among them. Most Yemenis are Sunni Muslim, but just over a third are Shiite Muslim. And for years, a Shiite militant⁵ group called the Houthis has been rebelling against the Yemeni government.

International officials believe the Houthis are supported by Iran, a predominantly Shiite Muslim country. The Yemeni government forces are supported by Saudi Arabia, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country. So, religious tensions in the region outside Yemen factor in, too.

The situation, especially for many civilians⁷ is desperate but there's no end in sight.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yemen is in the midst of a civil war. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels unseated the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Hadi in 2015. The Houthi rebels initially⁸ took control of the capital Sana'a and much of the rest of the country.

Saudi Arabia, through airstrikes, leads a coalition⁹, including the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Sudan, supporting the government's ground offensives, who now claimed they hold 85 percent of the country's territory. However, Houthi rebels still control the capital Sana'a and the strategic Red Sea port of Hodeida.

The U.N. report says neither side is doing enough to prevent civilian⁶ suffering. More than 13,000 civilian casualties are reported so far, with nearly 1/3 of Yemen's population close to starvation, and one million at risk of cholera¹⁰. The value of the Yemeni rial is suffering. Fuel is in short supply and food is getting more expensive.

The U.N. report also accuses Iran of failing to stop direct or indirect supply of Iranian made ballistic missiles to the Houthi rebels who fired them at Saudi cities, including the capital Riyadh.

Houthi rebels are threatening international shipping in the Red Sea, warning they'll close the waterway through which 1/10 of the world's maritime¹¹ trade passes. The conflict is complex. Yemen has always been poor and has long relied on aid from its prosperous northern neighbor Saudi Arabia.

Hadi's government is battling not just Houthi rebels but al Qaeda or ISIS with American military help and faces a separate strong separatist movement in the south. For now, the government plans to continue its military offensive to pressure the Houthis to talks. The war is far from over.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

9 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。

10 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

11 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。