VOA标准英语2009-Chad Says Military Offensive Against Rebels Insi

Chad says it has completed a ground and air assault against rebels based in neighboring Sudan, but the Khartoum government calls the bombing raids an act of war.

Chad's ground assault into Sudan captured 100 rebel prisoners and its aerial bombardment of rebel bases across the border destroyed seven groups of fighters, according to the government.

Interim¹ Defense² Minister Adoum Younousmi told reporters in Ndjamena the offensive is now complete and all Chadian forces have withdrawn³ from Sudan.

He said Chad's ground assault reached as far as 40 kilometers inside Sudan and was carried out without injury to local civilians⁴ or Sudanese government forces.

Sudan says Chad's offensive is an "act of war" and it is considering how to respond.

Younousmi says Chad does not need authorization⁵ to attack rebels inside Sudan as it is an existing right that Chad will exercise "at any time and in any place" by land, sea, or air.
　
Idriss Deby

Chadian President Idriss Deby is again threatening to sever⁶ diplomatic relations with Sudan after fighting earlier this month around the eastern city of Abeche, which he blames on Khartoum for backing the rebel Union of Resistance Forces.

Sudan denies the charge and says Chad is supporting the Sudanese rebel Justice and Equality Movement along the country's northwest border.

The U.N. Security Council has condemned⁷ the rebel attacks in eastern Chad and, without mentioning Sudan by name, has expressed its concern over what it calls "the external support received by Chadian armed groups."

Chad and Sudan have long accused each other of backing rival rebellions.

They broke diplomatic relations for a few months last year. 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 for Chad is 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 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

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 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

4 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。

5 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

6 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。

7 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。

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。