VOA标准英语10月-DRC Says Rwanda Threatens Attack

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is accusing the military of neighboring Rwanda of participating in attacks on its forces in eastern Congo in recent days, and of preparing a larger assault. Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi.
　

Renegade General Laurent Nkunda (File)

Since late August, rebel forces belonging to former Congolese general Laurent Nkunda have been battling government forces in the country's eastern provinces of North and South Kivu.

The two sides signed a ceasefire in January, but in the past month-and-a-half, renewed fighting has driven about 100,000 people from their homes in the area. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Congo says the number of dead could be in the hundreds.

In the most recent clashes, Nkunda's National Congress for the Defense¹ of the People captured a government base Wednesday at Rumangabo, 45 kilometers north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province.

A spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Congo, Jean-Paul Dietrich, said there was fighting in a number of locations.

"In Rumangabo we had the headquarters of the integrated brigade and it seems that during this fighting some CNDP could get a lot of weaponry left behind from the army. The army forces evacuated² the people to Rutchuru, so about 1,500 to 2,000 soldiers and their families have reached Rutchuru, which is the capital of this district yesterday [Wednesday] evening," he said.

He said the government reported that several dozen of its soldiers were wounded or killed in the attack. Rwanda's pro-government New Times newspaper reported that 100 Congolese troops were killed.

Dietrich also said that U.N. peacekeepers dispatched helicopters to one of the battle sites after one of their vehicles came under fire. He said the two sides had reached tentative agreement on a ceasefire in the area and that the area was calm on Thursday.

The latest clashes have heightened tensions between the governments of the DRC and Rwanda.

Earlier in the week, Rwanda's foreign minister expressed concern that the Congolese military was cooperating with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel group operating in Eastern Congo. Many of the groups fighters are Rwandan Hutus suspected of involvement in the country's 1994 genocide.

The DRC accuses Rwanda of backing Nkunda's rebels, who say they are protecting ethnic³ Tutsis in Eastern Congo from attacks by Hutu militias⁴.

Wednesday, the DRC's U.N. envoy⁵ said members of Rwanda's military were involved in the attack in Eastern Congo, and said that Rwandan troops were gathering⁶ in the town of Gisenyi in anticipation⁷ of an attack on the town of Goma across the border. That charge has been echoed by other Congolese officials.

Rwanda has denied involvement in this week's fighting, or that it is planning any cross-border attacks. The U.N. peacekeeping mission said it is looking into the allegations.

Rwanda's military has launched incursions into Congo on previous occasions, helping⁸ to overthrow⁹ the government of Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997 and playing an active role in the ensuing civil war in the Congo that lasted from 1998 to 2003.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 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。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 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

5 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。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。