VOA慢速英语--美国敦促塔利班重启和谈结束军事行动

US Urges Taliban to Restart Peace Talks, End Military Campaign

An American diplomat¹ has warned the Taliban that its military campaign to control Afghanistan will not result in a government that is recognized internationally.

The diplomat, Zalmay Khalilzad, gave the warning Tuesday to Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar. The Taliban has a political office in Doha.

Khalilzad has led U.S. peace efforts related to Afghanistan for several years. He and others hope to persuade Taliban leaders to return to peace talks with the Afghan government.

But the Taliban has intensified² military efforts in recent weeks to take control of wide areas of the country. The group's new campaign followed the U.S. decision last month to end its military activities in Afghanistan by the end of August.

Most recently, Taliban fighters captured six out of 34 provincial³ capitals in less than one week. They included Kunduz -- one of the country's largest cities -- in Kunduz province.

The Taliban is now battling the Western-backed Afghan government for control of several other provinces in the south. On Tuesday, Taliban forces entered Farah and were seen in front of the provincial governor's office.

The fighting has driven thousands of people to Kabul, where many are living in open areas in the city.

The latest Taliban gains have led to new efforts to restart peace talks aimed at ending the fighting. The goal is to begin a process to create an agreement for a power-sharing government. The Taliban has so far refused to return to peace negotiations⁴.

The new pressure from Khalilzad follows condemnation⁵ of the Taliban's moves by the international community. The United Nations has also warned the Taliban that any government that takes power by force will not be recognized.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement Khalilzad's mission in Qatar is meant to "help formulate⁶ a joint⁷ international response" to the current situation. The diplomat plans to "press the Taliban to stop their military offensive and to negotiate a political settlement," the statement said.

The Taliban's military chief released an audio message to his fighters on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. The message ordered the fighters not to harm Afghan forces or government officials in territories they seize.

The five-minute message was recorded by Mohammad Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. It instructed the rebels to stay out of empty homes belonging to government officials, to leave marketplaces open and to protect places of business, including banks.

It remains⁸ unclear, however, whether Taliban fighters would obey the orders. Some civilians⁹ who have fled Taliban forces have said they had put repressive restrictions¹⁰ on women and burned down schools.

The office of the U.N. human rights chief said it has received reports of executions, revenge killings¹¹ and military use and destruction of homes, schools and medical centers.

Many civilians have been killed or injured in the fighting. The U.N. human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said Tuesday her office had counted at least 183 deaths and hundreds of injured among civilians in several cities in recent weeks.

Words in This Story

province – n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

formulate – v. to develop all details of a plan for doing something

response – n. an answer of reaction to something that has been said or done

revenge – n. something that is done to punish someone who has done something bad to you

1 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。

2 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 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。

5 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

6 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 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。

10 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。