VOA常速英语2007-Rebels Say Sudan Government Launches New Attacks

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
29 October 2007

Rebels in Darfur say Sudan's government launched attacks in the troubled region along the border with Chad the same day that it announced a cease-fire at peace talks in Libya. As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, the rebels say the fighting casts doubt on the government's commitment to the peace negotiations¹.

The rebels claim militia² and government troops fought with rebels in the Jebel Moun area. The claim was made by two groups that are not attending the peace talks, the Justice and Equality Movement and a faction³ of the Sudan Liberation Army.

It is unclear how many people died in the attacks, but the rebels say that the government forces later withdrew and that both rebels and civilians⁴ were killed.

Al-Tayeb Bashar, a spokesman for an SLA faction led by Abdel Wahid al Nur, spoke⁵ to VOA from a rebel stronghold in Darfur near where the alleged⁶ fighting occurred.

"They came with their vehicles and horses and camels. Some of our people have been killed, some of them are civilians. The government as you know is making propaganda in front of international community and it says yes we declare ceasefire, they are saying this but really on the ground there are a lot of things going on here because they want to make more pressure for SLA-Wahid to go to Libya to negotiate and we are not going there at all," he said.

Bashar also said the government forces bombed rebel positions from the air, which would be another violation⁷ of a U.N. Security Council ban on Sudanese military flights in Darfur.

Government officials could not immediately be reached for comment about the latest attacks, but an army spokesman told Reuters that the armed forces have no troops in the area and that it is not in their interest to bomb anyone.

The attacks could also lead to new sanctions against the Khartoum government. During the weekend, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there is the possibility of sanctions if the ceasefire is broken.

The conflict in Darfur has killed at least 200,000 people and displaced more than two million since 2003. There had initially⁸ been hope that the peace talks in Libya would lead to improvements. Those hopes were shattered when some of the most powerful rebel groups refused to participate.

On Monday, the United Nations and the African Union essentially⁹ acknowledged that the talks in Libya, which they had been meeting, were not getting anywhere. They announced that it is now time for consultation¹⁰, and that what they called "substantial negotiations" would take place later.

1 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。

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 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 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。

5 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。

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 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。

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 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。