VOA标准英语2009-Chad, Sudan Trade Accusations of Backing Rival R

Chad is threatening to sever¹ diplomatic relations with Sudan after the military says it beat back an assault by rebels based in Sudan. Khartoum denies it is behind that rebellion and says Sudan is ready to fight rebels it says are backed by Chad.
　
Idriss Deby (File photo)

President Idriss Deby says Chad is re-evaluating relations with Sudan after fighting with rebels in eastern Chad late last week. The government says 22 soldiers and 225 rebels were killed in fighting around the eastern city of Abeche.

Chad blames Khartoum for backing the rebel Union of Resistance Forces.

Sudan denies the charge and says it is being attacked by Chadian-backed rebels. The state-run Sudanese News Agency quotes National Defense² Minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein as saying rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement are active along the country's northwest border with support from the government in Ndjamena.

President Deby is closing all Sudanese cultural centers in Chad and is taking over all Sudanese-run schools. He told an extraordinary cabinet meeting that "if the situation does not evolve positively³" relations with Sudan may be ruptured⁴.

The president says Chad is also evaluating its relations with the African Union given what he calls "its inability to find suitable solutions to the Chadian-Sudanese crisis." He told the meeting, which also included political opposition⁵ leaders, that Chad should consider withdrawing its confidence in the African Union and hand over the resolution of the crisis to the United Nations.

The U.N. Security Council Friday condemned⁶ the rebel attacks in eastern Chad and, without mentioning Sudan by name, expressed its concern over what it called "the external support received by Chadian armed groups."

Chad and Sudan have long accused each other of backing rival rebellions and only resumed diplomatic relations in November after severing⁷ them last May. The two countries signed an agreement in Doha last month agreeing to normalize relations and reject support for rebels.

Chadian rebels have been trying to overthrow⁸ President Deby for more than three years and briefly⁹ reached the capital 15 months ago. Part of the conflict centers on how best to approach the conflict in Sudan's neighboring Darfur region. More than 300,000 refugees from Darfur live in camps in eastern Chad.

A U.N. military force in Chad is only at about 40 percent of its troop strength of more than 5,000. The human-rights group Amnesty International wants donors¹⁰ to step-up their assistance for that force as it says the promise of security for the people of Chad and Darfur remains¹¹ an illusion.

1 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

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 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

4 ruptured   

v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 severing   

v.切断，断绝( sever的现在分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The death of a second parent is like severing an umbilical cord to our past. 父母当中第二个人去世，就象斩断了把我们同过去联在一起的纽带。 来自辞典例句
• The severing theory and severing method for brittle block are studied. 研究裂纹技术应用于分离脆性块体的分离理论和分离方法。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

10 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。