美国国家公共电台 NPR--As diplomats flee Sudan fighting, a former envoy says some should stay

As diplomats¹ flee Sudan fighting, a former envoy² says some should stay

Transcript³

After nine days of deadly battles between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), U.S. Embassy operations in Sudan are temporarily suspended and American government personnel and their families have been airlifted away from the fighting.

Under an order from President Biden, about 100 people boarded planes to leave Khartoum in a precarious⁴ weekend exodus⁵ assisted by U.S. special operations forces. Countries from the U.K. to Canada joined the U.S. in extracting diplomats and families from the Sudanese capital.

"There had better be some diplomats who stayed," says Timothy Carney, who was U.S. Ambassador to Sudan in 1996 when U.S Embassy personnel last fled Sudan. At the time, the Sudanese government had refused to deliver three alleged⁶ terrorists to Ethiopia after an attempted assassination⁷ of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The State Department said Khartoum would not guarantee the safety of U.S. citizens amid the terrorism threat.

Carney calls the 1996 decision to leave a "huge mistake," and while he says he won't second-guess the current operation, he tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that if diplomats such as U.N. special representative Volker Perthes remain, they can continue to work with the warring parties to attempt a cease-fire. (Perthes left Khartoum this weekend but will remain in Sudan for now, the UN said in a statement.) "In addition, of course, if some diplomats stay, it gives some hope to U.S. nationals who were not able to evacuate⁸."

Even so, Carney tells Morning Edition, "An embassy is an office building. It is not a fort...No embassy is really defensible." And he says there's no way to fortify⁹ the compound against the kind of weapons and explosives used in the violence that over the past week has wounded thousands and killed more than 420 people, including at least 264 civilians¹¹.

Why foreign diplomats are getting out

With the airspace closed and airports knocked out of operation, many foreign nationals are attempting to get to the transit¹² point of Port Sudan on the Red Sea. As NPR's Emmanual Akinwotu reports for Up First, many have to get there on their own. "Everyone who can is trying to leave the capital, Khartoum. That's the epicenter of this awful conflict."

"There's clearly this fear that at a perilous¹³ moment, countries are retreating from Sudan. And these are countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia and others who backed the transition and trusted these warring parties to give up power for a democratic process. And, of course, this process has completely unraveled with neither the Army or the RSF backing down," Akinwotu says.

Sudan's commander of the armed forces, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the head of the RSF, Gen. Mohammen Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, are former allies who helped overthrow¹⁴ Sudan's government in a military coup¹⁵ in 2021. A power-sharing plan for military rule was supposed to transition to civilian¹⁰ oversight¹⁶ later this year. That plan dissolved when both factions¹⁷ opened an all-out battle for control on April 15.

Carney says Sudan needs the international community to stay engaged in trying to exert influence on the two factions to achieve a cease-fire. "The key, of course, is to see who's got the ability to add more pressure to get these two warring generals to come to their senses and to realize their duty towards the Sudanese people themselves."

Akinwotu's reporting tallies¹⁸ the devastation¹⁹ from warfare²⁰ that's now in its tenth day. At least 11 health facilities have been attacked and many are no longer functional²¹ in Khartoum and the Darfur region. Dozens are shut down. People are either sheltering at home with no power or running out of food or trying to leave. Tens of thousands of Sudanese civilians have fled. And internet coverage²² has dramatically dropped.

"A sense of what's happening in the country is diminishing," says Akinwotu.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

It's a major and unfortunate occasion. I was part of that back in 1996. It was a huge mistake then. I can't second-guess what the White House and Department of State did on this occasion, because I'm not on the ground. I don't know what is exactly happening. But one thing's for sure, there had better be some diplomats who stayed. I would hope Volker Perthes, the U.N. special representative [for] the secretary-general, is still there so that he can be in contact with those two military sides that are doing the fighting. In addition, of course, have some diplomats stay. It gives some hope to various nationals who've been unable to evacuate.

On the message to Americans left behind in Sudan

The unfortunate thing is the Embassy left, but some 16,000 American citizens, most of them dual²³ nationals of Sudan as well, are there. And they cannot all flee. And normally an embassy has a contingency²⁴ plan for moving all of its nationals in case of emergency. I gather that there's work going on to see if that plan can be put together, but in the circumstances, I really doubt it. There's just too much violence between the Sudan Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force.

On whether the fighting amounts to civil war

Civil war is at this point a little too strong because you just have the militaries engaged. And to the best of my knowledge, there's very little popular support for the fighting from the civilians themselves - more fear than anything else and, of course, suffering with electricity cut off [and] water unavailable unless you go down to the Nile.

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

5 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

6 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

7 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

8 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

9 fortify   

v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化

参考例句：

• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
• This treaty forbade the United States to fortify the canal.此条约禁止美国对运河设防。

10 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。

11 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。

12 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

13 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

14 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

15 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

16 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

17 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

18 tallies   

n.账( tally的名词复数 )；符合；（计数的）签；标签v.计算，清点( tally的第三人称单数 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• Cash on hand tallies with the figure in the accounts. 现款跟账上的数目没有出入。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He tallies his own marks. 他把自己的得分记了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

21 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

22 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

23 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

24 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。