VOA标准英语2013--Questions Raised About Kony's Intentions as Desire for Surrender Reported

 

Questions Raised About Kony's Intentions as Desire for Surrender Reported

WASHINGTON — A spokesman for Central African Republic President Michel Djotodia said the president has been in touch with fugitive¹ warlord Joseph Kony, and that Kony  is ready to surrender. U.S. special forces have been assisting African soldiers in hunting for Kony, the head of the brutal² Lord's Resistance Army. Despite the recent  reports, U.S. officials have questioned whether Kony is in fact ready to lay down his arms.

Kony's Lord's Resistance Army waged a brutal guerrilla war against Uganda's government for nearly 20 years before fleeing into central Africa around 2005.

The group's atrocities³ were summarized during a Wednesday briefing by Jeffrey Delaurentis, a U.S. special policy representative.

"Since its founding more than a quarter of a century ago, the Lord's Resistance Army has been a constant source of terror and suffering. Tens of thousands of Africans  have died because of its rapacious⁴ violence, and countless⁵ people have been compelled to serve as underage soldiers and sex slaves," said Delaurentis.

However, military operations have severely⁶ weakened Kony and his fighters, according to the African Union's special envoy⁷ to the U.N., Francisco Madeira.

"Definitely he is no longer in peace and is feeling the pinch thanks to the pressure that the Regional Task Force is putting on him, and thanks to the operation of  encouraging his men and those who are with him to defect. And a good number of them are defecting," said Madeira.

Nonetheless, Madeira questioned whether Kony is truly trying to surrender, noting that the warlord may be "duping" the government in order to buy time to relocate his  fighters.

The U.S. State Department did not comment directly on the reported talks between President Djotodia and Kony, but spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Thursday that some of  Kony's fighters want to surrender.

"We are aware that authorities from the Central African Republic have been in contact for several months with a small L.R.A. group that has expressed an interest in  surrendering.  At this time, we have little reason to believe that Joseph Kony is part of that group," said Psaki.

Meanwhile this week, the U.S. announced plans to send $40 million in aid to help stabilize⁸ C.A.R.

Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement that "deplorable levels of violence" in the country are affecting millions of people each day. 

1 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

2 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

3 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》

4 rapacious   

adj.贪婪的，强夺的

参考例句：

• He had a rapacious appetite for bird's nest soup.他吃燕窝汤吃个没够。
• Rapacious soldiers looted the houses in the defeated city.贪婪的士兵洗劫了被打败的城市。

5 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

8 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。