VOA常速英语2008年-Chad Rebels Urge European Countries Not to Send

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
11 February 2008

Rebels in Chad are urging European countries to refrain from sending peacekeepers to the country's border with Sudan, saying the force will not be neutral. Meanwhile, opposition¹ leaders in the capital N'Djamena are still missing. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our regional bureau in Dakar.

In a statement released from Gabon, an allied² group of rebels said it no longer believed in the neutrality of a force essentially³ composed of French troops.

They demanded that other European countries refrain from sending their troops to the peacekeeping mission, whose final objective, the rebels say, is to protect the government of long-standing President Idriss Deby.

During fighting earlier this month, which reached the center of the capital N'Djamena, French forces permanently⁴ based in Chad gave medical, logistical and surveillance support to the Chadian army. France denied persistent⁵ reports, including in the French media, that its soldiers had engaged in direct combat.

Commanders of the European force have said they will remain neutral and that their aim is to secure camps of displaced people along the border with Sudan from the region's many conflicts. But they say they will delay by at least four weeks the planned deployment⁶, because of the recent fighting in Chad.

A large convoy⁷ of rebels is reported to be 700 kilometers southeast of the capital, having traveled hundreds of kilometers across the desert in recent days.

The main rebel spokesman, Aberaman Koulamallah told French media they are stocking up on munitions⁸ and provisions to launch a new attack on N'Djamena, and that they will never give up. He says they are fighting against a corrupt⁹ regime.

Government officials say army troops are following the rebels, which they call Sudanese-backed mercenaries, and will attack them when they believe they can wipe them out.

Meanwhile, government officials say the rebels have many accomplices¹⁰ in the capital, and that anyone found guilty of such association will have to face the law.

At least three major opposition leaders, including a former head of state, are missing, after apparently¹¹ being abducted¹² by government soldiers during the recent unrest.

Reed Brody from New York-based Human Rights Watch says it is hard to tell how much support there is for the rebels in N'Djamena.

"There are not public opinion polls and there have not been free elections," said Brody. "I do not think either side here would win a popularity contest. Idriss Deby obviously has a lot of support, but there is also a lot of opposition. That opposition increased when he changed the constitution a couple of years ago to allow himself to run for a third term."

The recent fighting in Chad caused a mass exodus¹³ from N'Djamena into nearby Cameroon, while also disrupting aid deliveries to refugees from Sudan's Darfur conflict. Darfurian refugees in Chad recently swelled¹⁴ in numbers because of heightened attacks in that region as well, amid delays in the deployment of a hybrid¹⁵ United Nations-African Union force for Darfur.

The rebellion in Chad follows the opening of a World Bank-funded oil pipeline¹⁶ that has helped further tap the country's vast oil wealth, triggering warnings from activists¹⁷ and the opposition leaders who have warned of problems.

Chad's oil minister says the country's oil output of about 150,000 barrels a day had not been affected¹⁸ by the fighting.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 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。

4 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

5 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

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 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

8 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

9 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

10 accomplices   

从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was given away by one of his accomplices. 他被一个同伙出卖了。
• The chief criminals shall be punished without fail, those who are accomplices under duress shall go unpunished and those who perform deeds of merIt'shall be rewarded. 首恶必办， 胁从不问，立功受奖。

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

12 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

13 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

14 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

15 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

16 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

17 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。