VOA标准英语2013--Abuses Reported in Northern Mali

 

Abuses Reported in Northern Mali

Amnesty International says Islamist militias² have committed many abuses against civilians⁴ in northern Mali, including the use of child soldiers, amputations and stonings. It’s calling on the international community to help deploy⁵ human rights monitors.

Amnesty’s Salvatore Sagues says child soldiers – forced into service by anti-government forces -- have seen combat in northern Mali.

“We have already learned that some child soldiers were sent to the front line. Some of them have been wounded and killed,” he said.

He said that even government-backed militias in the south are reported to be recruiting children.

“It is forbidden under international law if child soldiers are under 15 it is a war crime. And as you know, the International Criminal Court has opened [an] inquiry⁶ into Mali. So people who are using children below the age of 15 will have to account to the International Criminal Court,” he said.

Amnesty is also warning of civilian³ causalities as French forces pound Islamist militia¹ positions.

“The main problem is that Islamic armed groups are intermingled with civilians in the north. And when the French are bombing towns in the north they may unwittingly wound and even kill civilians. So we are reminding the French and the Malian army to take all the measures necessary to avoid targeting civilians,” he said.

Sagues said there’s also the issue of possible reprisals⁸ against those suspected of collaborating⁹ with the militias or the Tuareg rebels.

“So we are calling [on] the Malian authorities also to ensure that the armed forces are abiding¹⁰ by humanitarian¹¹ and human rights law,” he said.

Amnesty is receiving reports of atrocities¹² from human rights defenders¹³ and others in the north, who, it said, are risking their lives to get the information out. Sagues gave some examples.

“They imposed their own interpretation¹⁴ if Islam. Flogging couples, for example, who had sexual relationships without being married. They stoned to death a couple, unmarried, who had a child. They amputated several people accused of theft without any trial. They destroyed cultural buildings,” he said

He said before the rise of the militias in the north, Mali had been a very tolerant Muslim country. What’s more, he said, the militias are holding hostages.

“Currently to our knowledge, 13 people are being held in Mali, among whom six are French and four are Algerian nationals. And of course we are very much concerned that these hostages might pay the price of retaliation¹⁵ or reprisal⁷ as a consequence of this intervention,” he said.

Amnesty International said that the international community has a responsibility to prevent a fresh surge in abuses.

1 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

2 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

3 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。

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 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

6 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

7 reprisal   

n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠

参考例句：

• There is no political alternative but a big reprisal.政治上没有旁的选择只能是大规模报复。
• They bombed civilian targets in reprisal.他们炮轰平民目标作为报复。

8 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

10 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

11 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。

12 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

15 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》