2007年VOA标准英语-Western Kenyans Accuse Ugandan Army of Excessiv

By Arjun Kohli
Nairobi
06 July 2007

Cattle-herding¹ nomads² from western Kenya confirm United Nations and aid agency reports that forces of the Ugandan army are using helicopter gunships and mortar³ against communities living on the Kenya-Uganda border. The Ugandan army denies all such allegations. Arjun Kohli has more on the story from VOA's bureau in Nairobi.

Simon Poghisio, a Kenyan member of parliament, has said that Ugandan troops crossed over the Kenyan border into the West Pokot District on Tuesday. Poghisio tells VOA that the army regularly uses excessive force and crosses into Kenya, but the Ugandan army denies this.

According to Poghisio, Ugandan soldiers crossed the Kenyan border and opened fire on a group of Pokot warriors⁴ on Tuesday. He says that the warriors were trying to escape back into Kenya after stealing cattle in Uganda. Local media reports say dead bodies were found on the Kenyan side of the border and there was evidence of villages being burned.

"It has happened before," he said. "This week is much more serious because there is confrontation⁵. Helicopter gunships were used and some mortars⁶ were thrown. We have lost some people, the numbers are not confirmed but there has been a problem. There is a conflict there."

The Pokot people live in a drought-prone region along the Kenya-Uganda border. They live by herding cattle on either side of the border.

Milk forms an important part of the Pokot diet and one way of amassing⁷ wealth is by acquiring more cattle. Dowries and debts are often paid back using cattle rather than money and stealing cattle from neighboring tribes is common practice.

Felix Kulayigye, the Ugandan army spokesman, denies media reports that as many as sixty people are feared dead after skirmishes between the Ugandan army and Pokot tribesmen.

He says the warriors were returning to Kenya with stolen cattle when they encountered UPDF soldiers on patrol. In the skirmish that followed he says seven Pokot warriors and one Ugandan sergeant⁸ were killed.

Kulayigye insists Tuesday's fighting took place in the Ugandan hills, not far from the Kenyan border. He denies all accusations⁹ from locals that the UPDF forces crossed the border into Kenya and says the army had no reason to use helicopter gunships against the Pokot.

"As far as we know there has been no incident that requires use for gunships and bombs, because there have been no major raids," he said. "The Pokots have always come in and raided animals. In between the hills and the Kenyan border they encountered our foot patrol and attacked it killing¹⁰ the sergeant who was commanding it and wounding two others."

Local newspapers report that cattle raids in the region increase whenever the Ugandan Army troops, better known as the UPDF, are deployed¹¹ away from the region to northern Uganda. During these periods, there is less security, and raids between villages across the border occur more frequently.

The Ugandan army is deployed north to quell¹² the violent activities of a breakaway group, known as the Lords Resistance Army.

Tuesday's skirmish follows an attack early last month, when 500 head of cattle were stolen at Suam River, which acts as a border between Kenya and Uganda.

1 herding   

中畜群

参考例句：

• The little boy is herding the cattle. 这个小男孩在放牛。
• They have been herding cattle on the tableland for generations. 他们世世代代在这高原上放牧。

2 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

4 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

5 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

6 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

7 amassing   

v.积累，积聚( amass的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of taxonomy must necessarily involve the amassing of an encyclopaedic knowledge of plants. 分类学研究一定要积累广博的植物知识。 来自辞典例句
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

8 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

9 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 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。

12 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。