UN Tries to Negotiate Peace between New DRC Army, Former Reb

 

Nico Colombant
 
The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo is trying to ease renewed tensions involving the new national army and former rebels in the east of the country.
The U.N. officials are trying to negotiate a cease-fire, after clashes between former rebels and soldiers of the Congolese army.
One group of about 1,000 fighters from the former Rwanda-backed rebel faction¹, the Congolese Rally for Democracy, has stationed itself about seven kilometers south of the Kavumu airport, near the town of Bukavu, on the Rwandan border. These men have not joined the new national army.
Another group allied² to the same former rebel group was inside the town, but has now apparently³ returned to its barracks.
Those fighters, who have already joined the new army, clashed with other government soldiers last week, leaving at least 30 people dead, including some civilians⁵. But U.N. officials say the town and the airport were both quiet on Monday, although the tension remains⁶.
U.N. spokesman Sebastien Lapierre says the peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC, wants to avoid renewed civilian⁴ killings⁷.
"What we're trying to do now is negotiate a cease-fire between the advancing forces and the national army forces that are in between the airport and the town," said Mr. Lapierre. "The idea is to prevent the entrance of advancing forces inside the town, which would lead to surely the insecurity for civilians. As you know, MONUC is here to protect the civilian population. So, our efforts now are geared toward preventing a clash of forces inside the town."
Thousands of civilians have already fled to Rwanda.
The French news agency, AFP, quotes the commander of the dissident soldiers, General Laurent Nkunda, as saying he took action to protect members of Bukavu's Banyamulenge ethnic⁸ minority. The Banyamulenge are Congolese Tutsis, who have had difficult relations with other people living in eastern Congo for decades.
U.N. peacekeepers, who are deployed⁹ both in Bukavu and at the nearby airport, have not been involved in the fighting.
A power-sharing peace deal negotiated last year provides for a unified¹⁰ national army. But several groups of former rebels have been reluctant to join, and have periodically disrupted the consolidation¹¹ effort, even though their leaders are in the national reconciliation¹² government.

注释：
DRC abbr. Democratic Republic of Congo 刚果民主共和国
cease-fire 停火
Congolese [7kCN^E5li:z] adj. 刚果的，刚果人的
Rwanda-backed 卢旺达支持的
faction [5fAkFEn] n. 派别，小集团
Bukavu [bU:5kB:vU:] 布卡武（扎伊尔东部城市）
MONUC 联合国驻刚果（金）特派团
gear [^iE] v. 调整，（使）适合
AFP  abbr. （Agence France-Presse）法新社
commander [kE5mB:ndE] n. 司令官，指挥官
Tutsis [5tutsi] n. 图西人（卢旺达与布隆迪境内的少数民族人）
unified [5ju:nifaid] adj. 统一的
periodically [7piEri5CdikEli] adv. 周期性地，定时性地
reconciliation [7rekEnsili5eiFEn] n. 和解，调和

1 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

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 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

10 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

11 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

12 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。