VOA新闻杂志2023 极端组织在西非的活动不断增加（在线收听）

极端组织在西非的活动不断增加

 Islamist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State have been spreading across Africa for years.

多年来，与基地组织和伊斯兰国有关的伊斯兰组织一直在非洲各地蔓延。

The groups came from the large area south of the Sahara Desert called the Sahel.

这些组织来自撒哈拉沙漠以南一大片名为萨赫勒的地区。

They are spreading into wealthier West African coastal nations like Benin.

它们正蔓延到贝宁等更富裕的西非沿海国家。

Militants once were believed to want to use coastal nations like Benin, Togo and Ghana as bases for attacks on Sahel governments.

激进分子曾被认为想利用贝宁、多哥和加纳等沿海国家作为袭击萨赫勒地区国家政府的基地。

Now the militant groups are strengthening.

如今，激进组织的实力正在加强。

Benin has been the hardest hit.

贝宁受到的打击最严重。

This year it had more than 10 times the number of violent incidents involving Islamists than Togo did.

今年，贝宁涉及伊斯兰主义者的暴力事件数量是多哥的10倍以上。

That information comes from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

这些信息来自“武装冲突地点与事件数据项目”。

Attacks by militant Islamists, or jihadis, against civilians in Benin went from more than 30 to about 80.

在贝宁，伊斯兰激进分子（即圣战分子）对平民的袭击从30多起增加到约80起。

The overall number of incidents involving jihadi groups rose by more than 70 percent.

涉及圣战组织的事件总数上升了70%以上。

The jihadis' activity in Benin is mostly in the north of the country.

圣战分子在贝宁的活动主要集中在该国北部。

There, they try to recruit people and create division within local populations.

在那里，他们试图招募人员，并在当地人中制造分裂。

Residents of one small town told The Associated Press recently that civilians can no longer move freely.

一个小镇的居民最近告诉美联社，平民再也不能自由行动了。

People in Materi live in fear because of the jihadi threat.

由于圣战分子的威胁，马特里的人们生活在恐惧中。

The fighters place explosives and carry out kidnappings in the area.

武装分子在该地区放置炸药并进行绑架。

They aim to make people lose trust in the government.

他们的目的是让人们对政府失去信任。

The government has put in place a curfew and a ban on gatherings.

政府已经实施了宵禁和集会禁令。

"I can't sleep at night, we're not free to travel, to move," Materi resident Florence Bati said. "People are too afraid."

马特里居民弗洛伦斯·巴蒂说：“我晚上睡不着觉，我们不能自由出行和移动。人们太害怕了。”

People are being displaced from their homes as attacks increase.

随着袭击事件的增加，人们被迫离开家园。

Some people fear a humanitarian crisis.

一些人担心会出现人道主义危机。

In August, more than 12,000 people were displaced from their homes in the Atacora and neighboring Alibori states.

8月，在阿塔科拉和邻近的阿黎博里省，超过1.2万人流离失所。

That is an increase from about 5,000 in March, the United Nations said.

联合国表示，这比3月份的约5000人有所增加。

The violence is also pushing people from their farms.

暴力事件也迫使人们离开了他们的农场。

The U.N. estimates that tens of thousands of people could face hunger.

联合国估计，数以万计的人可能面临饥饿。

The government is trying to improve the situation by placing additional security forces along the borders and hiring more soldiers.

政府正试图通过在边境沿线增派安全部队和雇佣更多士兵来改善局势。

Local people in the north say they have seen increases in soldiers but say the army is underequipped and is sometimes late when answering attacks.

贝宁北部的当地人表示，他们看到士兵增加了，但军队装备不足，有时在应对袭击时会迟到。

Neighboring Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, are being overrun by violence.

邻国布基纳法索、尼日尔和马里正在遭受暴力的蹂躏。

The nations ousted French troops after the militaries there seized power.

这些国家的军队在夺取政权后驱逐了法国军队。

But Benin is still open to help from its former colonial power, which left in 1960.

但贝宁仍然愿意接受其前殖民国家的帮助，后者于1960年离开。

The French do not have a permanent base in the country.

法国人在该国没有永久基地。

At Benin's request, however, French troops can take part in training programs with Beninese soldiers, a French military spokesman said.

然而，法国军方发言人表示，应贝宁的要求，法国军队可以与贝宁士兵一起参加训练项目。

People in the north told AP that Benin's government is also trying to hide the level of the crisis.

贝宁北部的民众告诉美联社，贝宁政府也在试图掩盖危机的严重程度。

The government has limited freedom of speech and arrested reporters who cover insecurity.

政府限制了言论自由，并逮捕了报道不安全局势的记者。

Local officials have said the problem does not go beyond the border with Burkina Faso.

当地官员表示，这个问题不会超出与布基纳法索交界的边境。

"There is no terrorist, no movement, no organization, no group that has settled or tried to settle in our department," said Robert Wimbo Kassa, the mayor of Materi.

马特里市长罗伯特·温博·卡萨说，“我们省没有恐怖分子，没有行动，没有机构，没有组织。”

Benin is an agricultural nation of 13 million people.

贝宁是一个拥有1300万人口的农业国家。

It has invested billions of dollars in culture and tourism.

它在文化和旅游业上投资了数十亿美元。

It is also building a $1.5 billion industrial area outside of the city of Cotonou aimed at creating 300,000 jobs by 2030.

它还在科托努市外投资15亿美元建设一个工业区，目标是到2030年创造30万个就业岗位。

The lack of information has left people in other parts of the country unaware of the security problems in the north.

由于缺乏信息，该国其他地区的人们对贝宁北部的安全问题一无所知。

People in Cotonou said they did not know about the jihadi problem.

科托努的人们表示，他们不知道圣战问题。

They did not believe the news or said that it was a problem limited to neighboring countries.

他们不相信这一消息，并表示这是一个仅限于邻国的问题。

Rights groups say the government is attempting to control information, while arresting people believed to be working with the jihadis.

人权组织表示，政府试图控制信息，同时逮捕据信与圣战分子合作的人。

The groups say the government is pushing people into the militants' hands.

这些组织表示，政府正在把人们推到激进分子手中。

Bertin Assogba is with Durable and Develop Reference, a local aid and human rights group.

贝尔坦·阿索巴就职于当地援助和人权组织“持久与发展参考”。

"The jihadis live with the populations, the citizens know them, but they refuse to denounce them because the government doesn't encourage people to do so," he said.

他说：“圣战分子与民众生活在一起，公民认识他们，但他们拒绝谴责他们，因为政府不鼓励人们这样做”。