2007年VOA标准英语-Tensions Grow in Northern Iraq Over Turkish Mil

By Barry Newhouse
Irbil
10 June 2007

Trucks loaded with military equipment are seen heading towards the border with Iraq near the southeastern Turkish city of Nusaybin, 01 Jun 2007

Iraqi Kurds living near the Turkish border continue to report regular shelling in remote areas in recent days. Turkish generals have threatened strikes inside Iraq to eliminate support networks for Kurdish separatist fighters who operate in Turkey. But U.S. and Iraqi officials have warned Turkey against military action. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from northern Iraq.

Iraqi Kurdish media have reported near-nightly artillery¹ attacks in the past few days in the rural northwest of the country, near the Turkish border.

Abdullah Salah, an Iraqi parliament member from Kurdistan, told Iraqi television that several villages near the border city of Zakho have been targeted.

He says the locations shelled by the Turkish are north of Zakho. He says they are very close to the Turkish border.

A local Kurdish political leader in Zakho says the shelling has been regular, but the violence has not escalated².

He says frankly³, along the border Turkey has been massing their troops and waiting.

Turkey says Iraq's central government, Kurdistan's regional government, and the U.S. military have not done enough to crack down on Kurdish rebel bases inside Iraq. In the past week, 12 Turkish troops were killed in attacks blamed on militants⁴ of the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK. More than 30,000 people have died in the conflict since the PKK began its separatist campaign in 1984.

Thousands of Turkish troops have moved toward the Iraqi border and set-up special security zones that restrict movement in Turkey's border areas.

In Iraqi Kurdish villages near Turkey, there is worry of a Turkish invasion similar to 1997, the last time large numbers of Turkish forces crossed the border to fight the PKK. Turkey says the PKK uses mountain hideouts and friendly villages in northern Iraq to train and re-supply.

This woman in Dashati Takhe village, near the border city Zakho says the shelling has forced many people to leave their homes and seek shelter in the city.

She says she asks the Iraqi government to stop this. She says it is hard for the families here and we need to live in peace.

On Saturday, Iraqi officials in Baghdad summoned a Turkish diplomat⁵ and lodged⁶ an official complaint, claiming the military had shelled areas of Dohuk and Irbil province and warning cross-border attacks could destabilize the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday also warned Turkey, saying a "robust⁷" movement of troops across the border would not be good for Iraq or Turkey.

1 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

2 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

3 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

6 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。