VOA标准英语2009年-CAR Military Recapture Rebel-Held Town

Military officials in the Central African Republic say they have retaken a key northern town that was captured by rebels last week.

Scott Stearns | Dakar 30 November 2009

Central African Republic President Francois Bozize (file photo)

Military officials in the Central African Republic say they have retaken a key northern town that was captured by rebels last week. The country's president is pushing a peace deal ahead of 2010 elections.

Military officials in Bangui say government troops have recaptured the town of Ndele, about 675 kilometers north of the capital. It was at the center of fighting earlier this year that drove more than 8,000 civilians¹ across the border into Chad.

Rebels from the Convention of Patriots² for Justice and Peace took control of Ndele last Thursday in a three-pronged attack that the government says killed at least 15 people including two soldiers. Government forces from the garrison³ there regrouped and regained⁴ command of the town over the weekend, driving out rebels led by former prime minister Charles Massi.

Mr. Massi broke away from the larger Union of Democratic Forces for Unity⁵ when it joined other opposition⁶ groups in last year's peace accord. That deal includes the demobilization and reintegration of former combatants.

President Francois Bozize says he is pushing ahead with the accord.

In an interview on state-run radio, President Bozize says a new structure is in place within local committees near former combatants and former rebels. If this demobilization takes hold, he says conditions will be in place to bring more investment and social development.

With the recapture of Ndele, President Bozize says the situation is now normal after rebels cut the route to the north. He says there is peace now, as illustrated⁷ by the October return of former President Ange Felix Patasse.

Mr. Bozize toppled Mr. Patasse in a 2003 rebellion and won election as the country's president in 2005. Mr. Patasse returned from exile in Togo last month promising⁸ to challenge Mr. Bozize in next year's presidential elections.

While the former leader has received a pardon in the Central African Republic for crimes allegedly committed in the final days of his presidency⁹, the International Criminal Court is investigating Mr. Patasse's connection with Congolese rebel leader Jean Pierre Bemba.

Bemba is facing war crimes charges at the ICC. Prosecutors¹⁰ say Bemba and then-President Patasse agreed on a single mandate¹¹: "to protect the Patasse presidency and attack civilians thought to be allied¹² to rebels."

President Bozize says Mr. Patasse is free to contest the 2010 election, in which they will be joined as candidates by former prime minister Martin Ziguélé.

As that vote approaches, President Bozize is eager to secure the demobilization of former fighters and end the rebellion in the north to restore security along the border with Chad, where two aid workers were kidnaped at gunpoint one week ago.

He is also facing an incursion by Ugandan rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army in the south. Ugandan government troops are fighting in the Central African Republic against those rebels after pursuing them through the Democratic Republic of Congo.
 
 
 

1 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。

2 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

3 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

4 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。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

10 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

11 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。

12 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。