VOA标准英语2009年-Security Concerns as UN Takes Over Chad Force

The United Nations has taken charge of a multi-national protection force in eastern Chad following the end of the European Union's one-year mandate¹. The full U.N. force is not yet in place, raising security concerns in an area already bracing² for more refugees from Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
　
French soldiers don UN's MINURCAT berets during handover ceremony from EU peacekeepers, 15 Mar³ 2009, in Abeche

More than 2,000 troops remain from the 3,500 soldiers who made up the EU protection force. They are the foundation of what is expected to be a more-than 5,000-member force under the command of the U.N. mission in Chad and the Central African Republic.

But because that force is not in place, the human rights group Amnesty International said civilians⁵ may now be at greater risk.

"This is going to result in a situation where there is a security vacuum," said Tawandra Hondora, deputy director of the Africa program at Amnesty International.

With the U.N. force in neighboring Sudan at only 60 percent of its troop strength more than a year after taking over from African Union forces, Hondora said there is good reason to be concerned about the safety of refugees and internally displaced civilians.

"If it is going to take that long, we fear that civilians will be seriously exposed to greater harm in eastern Chad. And the reason why we say this is because armed oppositions⁷ groups which are Chadian as well as armed opposition⁶ groups, which are Sudanese, have been known to attack civilians to recruit child soldiers from within the civilian⁴ population," Hondora said.

Amnesty International wants the U.N. Security Council to make sure the full deployment⁸ of troops is done in the shortest possible time.

With an alliance of Chadian opposition groups threatening to launch another attack on the capital Ndjamena at the end of the rainy season, the U.N. protection force is under pressure to become more actively⁹ involved in resolving Chad's long-running civil war beyond its current mandate to protect civilians and support relief efforts.

"You can keep people alive, but if you cannot stabilize¹⁰ the country, you are going to be providing that kind of support, that security for a really long time," said Erin Weir¹¹, who works for the advocacy group Refugees International.

Concern about a further decline in security in eastern Chad follows this month's International Criminal Court arrest warrant charging Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with crimes against humanity in Darfur.
　
Darfur chidren play in a refugee camp in Gaga, eastern Chad, near border with Darfur (file)

Khartoum responded by expelling 13 international aid agencies last week. Hondora said that could bring more Sudanese refugees across the border into Chad.

"If that situation is not resolved quickly, we may see population flows from Sudan, Darfur into eastern Chad increasing the population and also increasing the security risks," said Hondora.

The new U.N. protection force recognizes that danger, saying it is preparing for the possible influx¹² of more Sudanese refugees as aid levels decline with the expulsion of non-governmental organizations.

1 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。

2 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

3 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 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。

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 oppositions   

（强烈的）反对( opposition的名词复数 )； 反对党； （事业、竞赛、游戏等的）对手； 对比

参考例句：

• That's fine because all perihelic oppositions of Mars are spectacular. 但它和最近的几次区别不大，因为火星所有的近日对冲都很壮观。
• He tried his best to bear down all of his oppositions. 他尽全力击败一切反对意见。

8 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。

9 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

10 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。

11 weir   

n.堰堤，拦河坝

参考例句：

• The discharge from the weir opening should be free.从堰开口处的泻水应畅通。
• Big Weir River,restraining tears,has departed!大堰河，含泪地去了！

12 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。