Agreement Reached to Ease Fighting in Fallujah, Iraq

 

Nick Simeone

In Iraq, a U.S. military commander said an agreement has been reached with leaders in the city of Fallujah that could ease a two week standoff between Sunni militants¹ and 1,200 American Marines encircling the city.

U.S. Marines have kept Fallujah sealed off for two weeks as they engage in some of the heaviest fighting in Iraq of the past year, aimed at restoring order to the city where four American contractors² were ambushed⁴ last month.

The battles have kept civilians⁵ largely confined to their homes. The toll⁶ that the clampdown has taken on the city was in evidence Monday when this Iraqi family, escorted by an American soldier and translator, emerged from their home desperate for something to eat. "We are starving. There is no food," they said.

Now, after days of negotiations⁷, U.S. General Mark Kimmitt said Marines have agreed to hold their fire provided anti-coalition⁸ gunmen hand over their heavy weapons and agree to end two weeks of intensive street battles that have reportedly claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqis and nearly 40 U.S. Marines. "We are trying to use peaceful negotiations to try to bring the situation in Fallujah to an end and it would appear by the agreed statement made today that there is an agreed political track," he said.

However, there has been no apparent change in the on-going standoff between U.S. forces and Shiite rebels holding out in the holy city of Najaf, where militiamen armed with heavy weapons have the run of the streets. U.S. military commanders have repeatedly warned that if gunmen loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr do not end their rebellion, coalition forces will move in with force and restore order.

It's in the Najaf area of south-central Iraq where Spain is about to pull its 1300 troops out of the country, as the new government in Madrid promised to do during last month's elections. In a telephone call with Spain's new prime minister Monday, President Bush expressed regret over the decision. The U.S. military says the departure of the Spanish forces will not leave a power vacuum, but so far no country has stepped in with a sizable offer to replace them.
注释：
standoff [5stAndCf] n. 冷淡
Sunni [5suni:] n.（伊斯兰）逊尼派
encircle [in5sE:kl] vt. 包围
seal off 把……封锁起来
contractor [kEn5trAktE] n. 雇员
ambush³ [5AmbuF] v.埋伏
clampdown [5klAmdaJn] n. 压制，取缔
escort [is5kC:t] v. 护卫，护送
Shiite [5Fi:ait] n. 什叶派
militiaman [mi5liFEmEn] n. 民兵
Spain [spein] n. 西班牙，欧洲南部国家。
Madrid [mE5drid] n. 马德里，西班牙首都。
departure [di5pB:tFE] n. 离开
vacuum [5vAkjuEm] n. 真空
sizable [5saizEbl] adj. 相当大的，大小相当的

 

1 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。

2 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

4 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

7 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。

8 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。