VOA标准英语2013--CAR Instability Helps Lord's Resistance Army Regroup

 

CAR Instability Helps Lord's Resistance Army Regroup

Rebels who seized power in the Central African Republic (CAR) this year effectively halted efforts to find the LRA there.  Ugandan troops and their U.S. advisers¹ suspended the hunt amid uncertainty² over how the rebel coalition³, known as Seleka, might pursue the group and its leader Joseph Kony.

"With the collapse⁴ in CAR, I think the effort, the real sense of urgency and focus on getting Joseph Kony, has collapsed⁵ somewhat," said Jennifer Cooke, director of Center for Strategic and International Studies Africa.

Kony is accused of being responsible for murder, kidnapping, and sexual slavery across four African countries.  His ability to now move more freely and capitalize on instability worries Human Rights Watch official Sarah Margon.

"Certainly chaos⁶ in Eastern Congo and in CAR could give the LRA the time to regroup.  And if nobody is particularly focused on the LRA as part of the larger regional issues, that is also another way in which they can regroup," said Sarah Margon, Human Rights Watch. "They sort of become invisible."

Rebel rule in Bangui creates new opportunities for the LRA, said Sasha Lezhnev of the human rights group, The Enough Project.

"Everyday that this situation continues, that the Ugandans and the U.S. advisers are just sitting in their seats watching the game unfold, is creating danger for the LRA to set up new abductions, to set up new safe havens⁷, as they have done many, many times," she stated.

In Central Africa, it is easy for such a mobile force to hide.

"The terrain⁸ with the forest canopy⁹ makes it very difficult to track them, even with infrared¹⁰ technology.  They move in groups of three to five.  They're now down to just a few hundred fighters," Lezhev said. "But Kony and his top commanders, but particularly Kony, has always been very, very resilient."

Seleka rebels controlling the Central African Republic have not made chasing the Lord's Resistance Army a priority, said Cooke.

"The Seleka coalition is very fractured.  It's a lot of very ambitious individuals and groups that have very different agendas.  Governance and security broadly is probably not one of them," added Cooke.

Cooke also questions the commitment of the previous government in Bangui, which left Seleka even less to live up to.

"What commitment there was has now pretty much collapsed.  It's just going to be pretty hard to do that when Ugandan troops can not collaborate¹¹ with troops in Eastern Congo, when Central Africa is in such disrepair," she said.

While regional governments have recognized rebel rule in Bangui, an African Union task force against the LRA is awaiting fresh rules of engagement in their pursuit of Joseph Kony. 

1 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser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：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

8 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

9 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

10 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。

11 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。