voa标准英语2008年-Fears Rising for Civilians in Eastern DRC

The U.N. refugee agency says it is concerned about the safety of tens of thousands of displaced civilians² in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting between government and rebel forces threatens North Kivu's provincial³ capital Goma. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

The U.N. refugee agency said the humanitarian⁴ needs in North Kivu continue to grow as the humanitarian situation in the province continues to deteriorate⁵.
　

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (L) addresses participants at an emergency summit in Nairobi, 07 Nov 2008

Peace efforts are under way in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi to try to resolve this intractable war. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is participating in this effort. He is calling for an immediate⁶ halt to the fighting, which reportedly has displaced about one-quarter of a million people since September.

U.N. refugee spokesman, Ron Redmond, said the UNHCR fully⁷ supports the secretary-general's appeal. He said the situation in eastern Congo, and in particular, around Goma is becoming untenable.

"We remain extremely concerned about the security of some 65,000 internally displaced Congolese in the Kibati camps on the northern outskirts⁸ of Goma," he said. "We fear that the civilian¹ population, already in a desperate humanitarian situation, could be caught in the crossfire⁹ should fighting resume in that area. The opposing forces are now in very close proximity¹⁰ to the camps."

In fact, Redmond said he has received reports from the UNHCR's office in Goma that shooting erupted Friday morning in the vicinity of the Kibati camps. He said this interrupted the ongoing¹¹ distribution of aid and caused panic among the camp population.
　

Congolese soldiers march from Kibati, north of the provincial capital of Goma, as civilians flee the area, 07 Nov 2008

He said the shooting stopped after about 30 minutes. But, aid workers report the internally displaced from the camp continued to move toward Goma, to the South, hoping to get out of the line of fire.

"We are again appealing to all sides in the conflict to respect the civilian character, to respect humanitarian principles and to ensure the safety of civilians and those trying to help them. There is also a risk of militarization in these camps. UNHCR and other agencies are rushing to get life-saving assistance to the internally displaced as quickly as possible," he said.

Redmond said the UNHCR and other aid agencies are distributing humanitarian assistance in Kibati, including food, plastic sheeting for shelter, kitchen sets, mosquito nets and other relief items.

Meanwhile the U.N. World Food Program reports WFP and the International Committee of the Red Cross will complete a food distribution operation Friday to 200,000 people.

The 10-day supply of rations¹² will feed 135,000 displaced people in six UNHCR-managed camps around Goma and 65,000 people in Kibati camps.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 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。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

9 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

10 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。