2006年VOA标准英语-Fractious Chad Rebels Dismiss Deby Meeting

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
18 December 2006

Chad rebels are dismissing an effort by President Idriss Deby to reach out to one of the many rebel movements operating near the border with Sudan. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our regional bureau in Dakar that there has been a recent lull¹ in rebel operations, but intercommunal violence is being reported again.

 
 
A Dakar-based Chadian rebel spokesman says Mahamat Nour, who met Sunday with Mr. Deby in eastern Chad, is already being discounted by other rebels.

Makaila Nguebla says Nour, a former Chadian army captain, was a bad leader, with no vision and dwindling² support.

Chadian forces rebuffed Nour's fighters in April after they made it all the way to the capital Ndjamena. Since then, rebels have split into many movements, sometimes even firing at each other.

The rebels have adopted a strategy of briefly³ occupying different towns, before retreating after fighting government soldiers.

The Dakar-based rebel spokesman says Nour should watch out before making any deals with President Deby.

He says any serious negotiation⁴ should involve officials from the United Nations and the African Union.

 
Chadian troops patrol  in town after fighting with UFDD rebels in Biltine, 11 Dec. 2006
Government officials have said negotiations⁵ with Nour are ongoing⁶. They have also said other rebel movements were crushed during recent fighting in the east.

But Nguebla who keeps constant contact with rebel commanders says they organized what he calls a tactical retreat.

He says they are in an area near Biltine, a town which has been the scene of heavy fighting.

During the past few days, there were also reports of what Chad's government calls janjaweed-style attacks near a refugee camp for civilians⁷ from Sudan's Darfur province.

Janjaweed are Sudan-backed, Arab-dominated militias⁸ accused of committing atrocities⁹ against black African civilians in the Darfur conflict.

Chad's government alleges¹⁰ similar attacks inside Chadian territory killed hundreds in November. It accuses Sudan of backing all rebel movements in Chad and trying to export the Darfur conflict across borders.

Sudan denies the charges, while accusing Chad of backing and supporting Darfurian rebels.

London-based analyst¹¹ Adrien Feniou for the Global Insight group says the link between Chad's rebels and janjaweed movements is possible, even if confusing.

"It seems that there could be coordination¹² between these intercommunal attacks and the rebel attacks, so when the rebels are quiet these janjaweed sort of appear out of the blue," Feniou said. "I am not sure where they come from, who they represent, and why they are attacking who they are attacking."

The violence has led Chad's government to impose a state of emergency until at least May 2007, limit freedom of movement and association, while also increasing censorship of media.

President Deby came to power as a rebel in 1990, and has since won elections widely viewed as rigged.

1 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

2 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 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。

8 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

9 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》

10 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。