2007年VOA标准英语-Burundi Prepares to Send Peacekeeping Troops to

By Katy Migiro
Nairobi
15 June 2007

Burundi says it is ready to deploy¹ troops as part of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia in July. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is giving $6 million in development aid to Somalia. Some of the money will be used to support the upcoming National Reconciliation² Congress, which was delayed once again this week. Katy Migiro in Nairobi has more on the latest efforts to bring peace to war-torn somalia.

 

Burundi's army spokesman Colonel Adolphe Manirakiza said it has been agreed that a battalion³ of Burundian peacekeepers will be airlifted to Somalia next month following a visit to Burundi by African Union officials.

 

"There was a mission of AU our country and they accept that we could send troops at the end of July," he said.

Ugandan AU peacekeepers patrol the international sea port in Mogadishu, 08 May 2007

Despite promises from numerous African countries, Uganda is the only one so far to have sent troops to Somalia to serve under the African Union Mission to Somalia.

 

The United Nations Security Council approved the deployment⁴ of an African Union peacekeeping force for Somalia in February. It conceived a 8,000-strong force with a mandate⁵ to help stabilize⁶ Somalia, where insurgents⁷ are fighting Somali and Ethiopian government forces.

 

Although Nigeria, Ghana and Malawi pledged troops, only 1,500 Ugandans have actually been deployed⁸.

 

On Saturday, the United Nations Security Council will meet with the African Union Peace and Security Council to discuss why African countries have been so slow to send troops.

The U.N.-AU meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, is the first stop on the U.N. Security Council's five-nation tour of Africa in support of ongoing⁹ peace efforts across the continent.

 

Meanwhile, the United States is giving financial assistance to the Somali peace process.

 

On Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger, signed a two-year development aid agreement for Somalia. This includes $1.25 million specifically for a National Reconciliation Congress.

 

On Wednesday, it was announced that the Congress would be postponed¹⁰ until July 15.

 

Despite the delays, Ambassador Ranneberger is optimistic about Somali peace efforts.

 

"The United States really believes this is an unparalleled opportunity to achieve peace and a stable future for Somalia which has suffered from chaos¹¹ and civil war for almost two decades," he said. "I think we are seeing the Somali people rally around the theme of national reconciliation. We are seeing outreach by the transitional federal government to broad cross sections of clans¹² and sub-clans."

 

If the political situation in Somalia improves, the U.N. Security Council said Thursday, it may authorize¹³ a U.N. peacekeeping force to take over from the African Union.

1 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。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

4 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。

5 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

6 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。

7 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

11 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

12 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

13 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。