The African Union's special envoy for Somalia has condemned the rise in attacks on AU peacekeepers in the country in the past week. He asserted the right of AU troops to defend themselves, but reinforced the mission's neutrality in the country's conflict.
非洲联盟驻索马里特使布瓦基拉对过去一个星期里非盟维和部队在索马里遭遇袭击增多的情况予以谴责。他说，非盟部队有自卫的权利，但同时强调了非盟维和部队在索马里冲突中的中立性。
In recent weeks, Somalia's Islamist insurgents, who since early 2007 have been battling the country's transitional government and the Ethiopian troops who back it, have launched a growing number of attacks on African Union peacekeepers in the capital Mogadishu, the center of the insurgency.
索马里的伊斯兰教暴乱分子从2007年初以来一直在同索马里过渡政府和支持该政府的埃塞俄比亚部队作战。在最近几个星期里，在暴乱活动的中心--索马里首都摩加迪沙，这些暴乱分子增加了对非洲联盟维和部队的袭击。
A series of attacks last week killed two Ugandan peacekeepers. This week, insurgents attacked the peacekeepers' positions on three consecutive days. While the AU has reported no casualties, the group's special envoy, Nicolas Bwakira, described the attacks as "unprecedented", and the peacekeepers have responded with some of the heaviest firepower they have used since deploying in February, 2007.
上周发生的一系列袭击导致两名乌干达维和军人死亡。这个星期，暴乱分子又连续3天对维和部队哨所发动袭击。虽然非洲联盟说袭击并没有造成人员死亡，但非盟驻索马里特使布瓦基拉说，这些袭击“前所未有”，而维和部队进行回击时所使用的火力也是自2007年2月部署这支维和部队以来最强劲的。
Speaking in Nairobi, Bwakira described the insurgent attacks as a deliberate effort to provoke a response from the African forces.
布瓦基拉在内罗毕说，暴乱分子故意发动袭击，企图挑起非盟部队做出反应。
"Available information indicates that these attacks were a calculated move intended to draw AMISOM into direct armed confrontation with the insurgent forces and therefore to appear to be involved directly in the conflict. They were also intended to portray AMISOM as a partisan in the on-going conflict so that its troops could easily become a target and subjected attacks," he said.
他说：“我们掌握的情报显示，这些袭击是深思熟虑的行动，目的是使非洲联盟驻索马里维和部队同暴乱分子进行直接武装对抗，这样就使非盟部队看起来直接卷入了冲突。这些袭击的目的还是要使非盟维和部队看起来是偏向目前冲突中的一方，这样，维和部队就可以轻易成为袭击的目标并且遭到攻击。”
The U.N.'s refugee agency said on Friday that over 80 civilians are believed to have been killed in this week's fighting, and 15-thousand people have fled their homes in Mogadishu.
联合国难民机构星期五说，据信有80多名平民在本周的交战中死亡，1万5000人逃离了在摩加迪沙的家。
Some residents have described the peacekeepers' shells hitting civilian targets. Bwakira said the peacekeepers reserved the right to defend themselves from insurgent attacks, but pledged that the force would not take sides in the conflict.
一些居民说，维和部队的炮火击中了平民目标。布瓦基拉说，维和人员有权在遇到暴乱分子袭击时进行自卫，但是他保证，维和部队不会在冲突中支持某一方。
"We would like to reiterate in the strongest terms possible that the African Union is not in Somalia to fight or to be drawn into conflict we are not part of, we are there as an impartial and neutral peacekeeping force in order to help Somalis in their quest for peace in their country," he said.
他说：“我们要郑重重申，非洲联盟在索马里不是为了打仗或者被拖入我们没有参与的冲突，我们是公平、中立的维和部队，是要帮助索马里人民实现和平。”
The AU mission has an authorized force of 8,000 but to date only 2,600 troops from Uganda and Burundi have been deployed, and the mission has had little success in stemming the conflict. The AU wants the United Nations to take over responsibility for peacekeeping in Somalia, but the U.N. is unlikely to agree to a mission without a dramatic improvement in security, fearful of getting bogged down in the messy conflict.
非洲联盟维和部队获得的授权是维持8000人的兵力，但是到目前为止只部署了来自乌干达和布隆迪的2600人，而且维和部队在制止冲突方面收效甚微。非洲联盟希望联合国接管在索马里的维和任务，但是在安全局势没有明显改善的情况下，联合国由于担心陷入混乱的冲突而不大可能同意接管这一任务。
Analysts have suggested that the recent targeting of AU forces by insurgents may be a strategy to discourage further foreign intervention in the conflict.
分析人士说，暴乱分子最近把非洲联盟维和部队作为打击目标可能是为了阻止外国力量对索马里冲突进一步干预。 |