2007年VOA标准英语-Sudanese Militia Blamed For Killing 400 In Sout

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
10 April 2007

The U.N. refugee agency says as many as 400 people were killed in southeastern Chad 10 days ago during cross-border attacks by Sudanese Janjaweed militia¹.  The death toll² is far higher than previous estimates by Chadian authorities that at least 65 people died after attacks on March 31.  Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

Chadians of non-Arab origin flee conflict in east, near Goz-Beida, near border with Sudan, Nov. 10, 2006

The newly revised death toll follows a visit by a group of U.N. agency officials on Sunday to the remote area where the attacks occurred.  UNHCR Spokesman, Ron Redmond, says the group describes what they saw as "apocalyptic³."

"Hundreds upon hundreds of homes had been burned to the ground.  A small fire was still burning Sunday in one section of Tiero," he said.  "There was an overwhelming stench from the rotting carcasses of animals that had been hit by stray bullets, consumed by fire or which had died of thirst.  There were famished⁴ and frightened dogs all around.  There were many indications that people had little or no time to flee." 

Redmond says people left their belongings⁵, food and animals behind in their haste to leave.  He says some people collapsed⁶ along the route and were brought to Goz Amir health center for treatment.  He says many people died where they fell.

Both Sudan and Chad have blamed each other for a series of cross border raids.

The UNHCR Spokesman says the High Commissioner⁷ has been warning of the spread of unrest during the past two years from Darfur to neighboring countries.

"We have seen a dangerous escalation⁸ for a long time, not only in Darfur, but in Chad and the Central African Republic," he added.  "And, that situation is continuing as evidenced by the tragedy that we just saw in these two villages over the past week." 

It says more than 9,000 Chadians, mainly women and children, from 31 villages are at a new camp for internally displaced people.  They join another 9,000 who had fled earlier raids in the region.

The UNHCR assists more than 220,000 refugees who have fled the conflict in Darfur and around 120,000 internally displaced Chadians.  

1 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。

2 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。

3 apocalyptic   

adj.预示灾祸的，启示的

参考例句：

• The air is chill and stagnant,the language apocalyptic.空气寒冷而污浊，语言则是《启示录》式的。
• Parts of the ocean there look just absolutely apocalyptic.海洋的很多区域看上去完全像是世界末日。

4 famished   

adj.饥饿的

参考例句：

• When's lunch?I'm famished!什么时候吃午饭？我饿得要死了！
• My feet are now killing me and I'm absolutely famished.我的脚现在筋疲力尽，我绝对是极饿了。

5 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句