VOA标准英语2009年-Humanitarian Situation in Northern Yemen D

U.N. aid agencies say the humanitarian¹ situation in northern Yemen continues to deteriorate² as the battle between the Yemeni government and rebels allied³ to al-Qaida rages on. The agencies say tens of thousands of civilians⁴ are trapped in the conflict zone and basic supplies are very low.
　
Displaced Yemenis from the northern Saada province carry water to their tent at a camp set up by the United Nations High Commissioner⁵ for Refugees in Mazraq in Hajja region, 10 Sep 2009

The U.N. refugee agency accuses the al Houti rebel forces and government troops of fighting with utter disregard for the safety and well being of civilians in and around Saada city in northern Yemen.

It says people forced to flee their homes arrive at a camp in the neighboring Hajjah province, traumatized and exhausted⁶. It says the majority of the displaced are women carrying hungry children and crying babies.

UNHCR spokesman, Andrej Mahecic, says the situation for civilians inside Saada city is critical as the street battles rage on in several neighborhoods and in the old part of the city.

"Most of the displaced are stranded⁷ and dangerously exposed to the fighting as they are unable to reach safer areas," he said. "Mines and unexploded ordnance⁸ on the roads increase the risks for those trying to flee the area."

"Inside Saada city, people are living in extreme conditions. There is no water or electricity in Saada since the 12th of August and the food reserves are running out. Clashes have also spread to Harf Sufyan in Amran province, south of Saada forcing a new wave of IDPs" [internally displaced people]," he added.

The U.N. Children's Fund is one of many UN agencies urgently appealing for the establishment of a so-called humanitarian corridor, which would allow them to reach the people in Saada with desperately⁹ needed aid.

UNICEF says children are bearing the brunt of this conflict and many now have to live in camps, schools or with host families. With each passing day, it says the lives and wellbeing of these children are at increased risk.

The World Food Program says food supplies in Saada city are in critically short supply. WFP staff members, who had to leave Saada because of the dangers, now are providing services to internally displaced people in camps in Hajjah and Amran provinces.

WFP spokeswoman, Emilia Casella, says people in Hajjah are also suffering from extreme weather conditions.

"For many of them, it is unbearable¹⁰ compared to the mountainous area they fled from," she said. "And, because of the heat, some children are suffering from skin diseases. Those who managed to flee with their livestock¹¹ are seeing that their livestock, mainly goats, are dying In fact from these conditions."

"Some families have been wandering around for almost a month and really with no shelter and barely any assistance. So, they are arriving in Hajjah in pretty rough conditions and we are particularly concerned about that," she continued.

Casella say WFP is preparing to provide special nutrition for children under five. But, this is a problem because aid workers are unable to reach the vast majority of people who need assistance. To date, she says, WFP has only been able to distribute food to some 13,000 people, while 150,000 are in need of such assistance.

The U.N. refugee agency says it is ready to launch a cross border operation from Saudi Arabia to assist IDPs scattered¹² north of Saada city as soon as it gets the green light from both governments.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

3 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。

4 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。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

7 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

8 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

9 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

10 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

11 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

12 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。