2006年VOA标准英语-Darfur Peace Agreement in Danger

By Noel King
Khartoum
06 December 2006

The United Nations and African Union are on high alert in El Fasher, the capital city of northern Darfur. Attacks by militias¹, known as Janjaweed, have jeopardized² the Darfur Peace Agreement. From Khartoum, Noel King reports former rebels have indicated they may return to war.

 

Fighting erupted, Monday, when armed Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, launched an evening raid on the market in El Fasher, the capital city of north Darfur.

 

Five unarmed members of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) - the only rebel faction³ to sign on to the Darfur Peace Agreement - attempted to intervene.

 

Two SLA combatants died from injuries in the fighting.

 

Minni Minnawi

Tuesday the SLA faction - led by Minni Minnawi - condemned⁴ the attacks and threatened to pull out of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

 

Minnawi accuses the Sudanese government of failing to stop violent attacks on civilians⁵.

 

United Nations Spokeswoman Rhadia Achouri spoke⁶ with VOA Wednesday. She says heightened tensions have forced the United Nations to withdraw some staff from the city.

"We evacuated⁷ all non-essential staff and NGOs," she said. "The incidents that happened in the market are part of the concerns that we have and also the increased presence of the Janjaweed in the town, itself, and reports of increased presence of armed groups in the vicinity of EL Fasher - these are the considerations that compelled us to proceed to temporarily relocate non-essential staff."

 

El Fasher is home to tens of thousands of refugees who fled fighting in their villages for large camps.

 

Tuesday, the African Union peacekeeping component⁸ - based in El Fasher - said it had received reports that the AU base was under threat of attack by rebels massing outside of the city.

 

Still, AU Spokesman Nourredine Mezni tells VOA the area remains⁹ calm.  He says the AU is trying to alleviate¹⁰ tension between former rebels and the Sudanese Government, which is widely believed to be arming the Janjaweed.

 

"Today, we have an esteemed¹¹ committee of the signatories of the DPA. They will meet to discuss what happened yesterday and review the security situation in Darfur," he said.

 

Minnawi's threats to pull out of the Darfur Peace Agreement portend¹² a severe blow to the already shaky deal.  His faction of the SLA was the only one to sign on to the AU-brokered peace agreement.

 

Other rebel factions¹³ say the agreement does not meet their basic demands of wealth and power sharing.

 

The Darfur conflict is entering into its forth¹⁴ year. Tens of thousands of Darfuris have died and some two million others have been displaced in Darfur and eastern Chad.

1 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

2 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

3 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

8 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

11 esteemed   

adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为

参考例句：

• The art of conversation is highly esteemed in France. 在法国十分尊重谈话技巧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He esteemed that he understood what I had said. 他认为已经听懂我说的意思了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 portend   

v.预兆，预示；给…以警告

参考例句：

• Black clouds portend a storm.乌云为暴风雨的前兆。
• What do these strange events portend?这些奇怪的事件预示着什么？

13 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

14 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。