2006年VOA标准英语-AU Raises Alarm Over Renewed Violence in Darfur

By Noel King
Khartoum
10 December 2006

Fighting is flaring¹ across Sudan's embattled western Darfur region, the

Kenyan woman holds a poster during a protest march in Nairobi, Kenya, 7 Dec 2006

African Union warned Sunday. The AU reports at least 22 people have died in attacks by armed militias³ in west Darfur. The north Darfur capital of El Fasher is on high alert following militia² attacks on Saturday. Noel King reports for VOA from Khartoum.

At least 22 people have died in western Darfur, following an attack on a commercial vehicle by unidentified armed militias, the African Union said Sunday.

 

An eight-member AU investigation⁴ team which traveled to Sirba village in west Darfur to inspect the site has been detained in a police station by village residents, the AU said. Sirba village is a stronghold of the rebel National Redemption Front, a coalition⁵ of rebel factions⁷ which have refused to sign on to the Darfur peace agreement.

 

African Union spokesman Nourredine Mezni appealed for the release of the AU observers, who he said have been prevented from boarding their helicopter to leave the area.

 

"We are trying our best to release our people who are now kept in Sirba area," he said. "I'm appealing to all the parties to remind them that we are in Darfur to help them to restore peace and stability. We are not part of the conflict. Any attack on our personnel or property will be seen as a violation⁸ of the cease-fire and serious measures will be taken against those who are harming our people."

 

In a separate incident, at least two people were killed and 11 wounded following an clash between armed militias and civilians⁹ in the north Darfur capital of El Fasher late Saturday.

 

The African Union says it is investigating the incident.

 

Former Darfur rebels of the Sudan Liberation Movement, the only rebel faction⁶ to sign the May peace agreement with the Sudanese government, called the attack a blatant¹⁰ violation of the accord.

 

Saif Haroun, a spokesman for the SLM told VOA on Sunday the marketplace in El Fasher was attacked and shops looted by scores of men who arrived in trucks.

 

Haroun said the SLM is frustrated¹¹ by the continued attacks on civilians and will defend against further attacks.

 

"The situation in El Fasher is so bad right now. We are going to work on the agreement, which has been signed by the government," said Haroun. "But if the security situation is still going in this way, the SLM is going to have an option. If the international community or the African Union or the government does not take their responsibility, we are going to defend our people in Darfur."

 

Observers fear the SLM may make good on recent threats that it will return to war if violence against civilians continues.

 

The United Nations says it was forced to evacuate¹² 134 UN and non-governmental staff from El Fasher earlier this week, following attacks by militias. Several aid agencies have evacuated¹³ staff as violence rises across Darfur.

 

The Sudanese government this week blamed the rising tide of violence on rebels, who have refused to sign on to the Darfur peace agreement.

 

U.S. Special envoy¹⁴ Andrew Natsios arrived in Khartoum on Saturday. He is expected to visit the Darfur region during his trip.

 

The United States has called the conflict, in which tens of thousands have died and some two million more have been displaced, genocide.

1 flaring   

a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的

参考例句：

• A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。
• Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。

2 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

3 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

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

9 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。

10 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

11 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 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。

14 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。