voa标准英语2008年-Tensions Remain High in Congo

Rebels and government forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue a tense standoff outside the eastern town of Goma, where sporadic¹ fighting between the two sides has forced hundreds of thousands to flee. Leaders from Southern Africa said Sunday they would consider sending peacekeepers to the conflict, an idea that has been rejected by the main rebel leader. Derek Kilner has more from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi.
　

A Congolese government soldier forces people out of a minibus at a front line checkpoint near Kibati just north of Goma in eastern Congo, 10 Nov 2008

U.N. peacekeepers said the area around Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is calm, following clashes Sunday.

But with rebels from Laurent Nkunda's National Congress for People's Defense² and government soldiers stationed only a few-hundred meters apart, conflict risks breaking out at any time.

Since fighting resumed in eastern Congo in August, an estimated 250,000 civilians³ have been displaced. The conflict has intensified⁴ in recent weeks, as rebel troops have approached the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, near the border with Rwanda.

The Congolese government has accused Rwanda of backing Nkunda and there have been reports of Angolan troops fighting alongside government forces in the area.

A spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission, Madnodje Mounoubai, played down the reports of Angolan soldiers.

"Right now, we have not seen any Angolan soldiers, we have not seen any Angolan troops," said Mounoubai. "We have no proof that there are Angolan troops engaged."

But concern is growing among African leaders. On Friday and Saturday, heads of state from the Great Lakes Region met with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in Nairobi. Sunday, southern African leaders called for a ceasefire, pledging to send military advisors⁵ to DRC and raising the possibility of sending peacekeepers to the conflict.

Southern African Development Community Secretary-General Tomaz Salomao addressed reporters following an emergency summit in Johannesburg.

"SADC will not stand by and witness destructive acts of violence by any armed groups against innocent people of DRC," Salomao said. "If and when necessary, SADC will, within the Nairobi framework, send peacekeeping force into Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo."

Nkunda told the Reuters news agency that his forces would attack African peacekeepers if they intervened on the side of the government.

Mounoubai said that there would need to be further discussion about how any potential deployment⁶ would relate to the existing U.N. peacekeeping mission.

"If you have additional troops coming into the DRC, this will have to be clarified, the line of command, will they be part of MONUC, will there be a different mission, will there be a hyrbrid like in Sudan all this has to be discussed," said Mounoubai.

The U.N. peacekeeping force, known by the French acronym⁷ MONUC, has 17,000 troops in DRC, roughly a third of them in North Kivu province. The mission has requested additional forces and equipment.

Most of the diplomatic pressure has been aimed at Nkunda. He has allowed humanitarian⁸ convoys⁹ access to territory controlled by his forces. But the U.N. has also accused his troops, as well as those of the Mai Mai militias¹⁰ that oppose Nkunda, of systematically¹¹ killing¹² civilians in the town of Kiwanja, an act that would constitute war crimes. Human-rights groups estimate that between 50 to 200 civilians were killed in the town.

Meanwhile, the medical organization Doctors Without Borders has warned of an outbreak of cholera¹³ in camps around Goma, saying at least 45 cases of so far been reported.

1 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

2 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。

3 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。

4 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

6 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

7 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

8 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。

9 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

10 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

11 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

13 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。