U.S. welcomes French military action in Mali

 　　WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United States welcomed the French military action in Mali and was providing support to the French forces, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Tuesday.

　　"It's absolutely critical to stop the offensive of terrorist groups towards southern Mali, to prevent the collapse¹ of the government, and to accelerate the implementation² of the U.N. Security Council resolutions on Mali," Nuland told reporters at a briefing.

　　"So, it's in that context that the U.S. very much welcomes the French military action in Mali, which came at the request of Mali' s president, as well as support being offered by other governments, " she said.

　　The al-Qaida-linked rebels in northern Mali are facing increasing pressure after days of bombardment by French war planes and the French decision to deploy³ more troops on the ground to help Mali's government forces.

　　During a visit to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande said the French forces in Mali will increase from the current 750 to 2,500.

　　On Friday, Paris confirmed its military operations in Mali to back the government forces in fighting the rebels, who briefly⁴ seized the central town of Konna and threatened the southern part of Mali, including the capital Bamako.

　　Right now, the Malian military claims it has regained⁵ control of Konna with support of the French army. It has vowed⁶ to continue to uproot⁷ the rebels in cooperation with the former colonial power of France and regional countries.

　　Nuland noted⁸ that Washington supported the immediate⁹ deployment¹⁰ of the African-led international support mission, primarily from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). She also urged the government of Mali to move forward on a political transition process.

　　In terms of the U.S. support to French troops, Nuland said Washington was already providing intelligence to the French military, and was considering to help them airlift forces into Mali and refuel their jet fighters.

　　Fighting erupted in early 2013 after the Malian government and Ansar Dine, an Islamist group that wants imposition of strict Sharia law across the country, failed to reach a deal to resolve the crisis in Mali.

　　So far, more than 100 rebels have been reportedly killed. Eleven from the Malian army have also been killed, while the French troops lost two soldiers.

1 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。

2 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

3 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

4 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。

5 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 uproot   

v.连根拔起，拔除；根除，灭绝；赶出家园，被迫移开

参考例句：

• The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土，移居澳大利亚。
• The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。