VOA慢速英语2013 France and West African Countries Intervene in Mali

 

France and West African Countries Intervene in Mali

From VOA Learning English, this is IN THE NEWS in Special English.

France joined African forces this week in an effort to oust¹ Islamic militants³ in northern Mali. The militants have progressively moved south. At the request of the Malian government, France earlier launched an air offensive against the militants. France is Mali’s former colonial ruler.

Then France launched a ground offensive, along with forces of Mali and the Economic Community of West African States, called ECOWAS. Islamic extremists seized control of northern Mali after Malian soldiers ousted⁵ the government last March.

French troops have faced strong resistance from the Islamic force, said to be a well-organized coalition⁶ of militant² groups. One of the Islamist groups leading the coalition is Ansar Dine, which means “Defenders of Faith.” The group follows a form of Islam known as Salafism. It seeks to rule Mali under a severe form of Sharia law.

Ansar Dine had joined with ethnic⁷ Tuareg rebels last April to oust government forces in northern Mali. In June, Ansar Dine turned its weapons against the lesser-armed Tuareg fighters and seized control of the area.

Since taking over the north, the group has joined forces with two area militant groups. They are al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and the Movement for Unity⁴ and Jihad in West Africa.

The Islamists have used several methods to develop into a fighting force that surprised French officials with its skills. An expert at the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense⁸ of Democracies, Bill Roggio, said the militants secured their weapons from neighboring Libya.

Mister Roggio also said the militants seized rocket launchers and armed vehicles from the Malian army. The militants have earned millions of dollars by kidnapping foreigners and taking part in the drug trade.

In November the African Union approved plans for a West African military force to deploy⁹ to Mali. The plans were approved in December by the United Nations Security Council. France says 1,400 French soldiers were deployed¹⁰ to Mali. More than 1,000 more are expected in the next few days.

Armed vehicles arrived earlier this week from Ivory Coast. On Thursday, 100 soldiers from Togo also arrived. The Togolese were the first of the West African forces to come to Mali. ECOWAS plans to send as many as 3,300 troops into the nation.

Islamic militants made gains by capturing the southern and central towns of Diabaly and Konna. On Friday, the Malian army and French officials reported that Malian troops regained¹¹ control of the town of Konna.

The U.N. refugee agency says it expects up to 700,000 more people to flee their homes in Mali because of the fighting. Helene Caux, a spokeswoman for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR in West Africa says she hears reports that many people are fleeing the conflict.

"What we have at the moment are testimonies¹² from people who are crossing to Burkina (Faso), to Niger, to Mauritania and what they are telling us is that more people are on their way. Actually, more people are on their way by foot."

THE U.N. refugee agency says it is working hard to increase help for  the growing numbers of refugees and people displaced inside the country.

1 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 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。

5 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

10 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。

11 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。

12 testimonies   

（法庭上证人的）证词( testimony的名词复数 )； 证明，证据

参考例句：

• Davie poured forth his eloquence upon the controversies and testimonies of the day. 戴维向他滔滔不绝地谈那些当时有争论的问题和上帝的箴言。
• Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. 22求你除掉我所受的羞辱和藐视，因我遵守你的法度。