VOA常速英语2007-African Union Searches for Motive in Darfur Atta

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
01 October 2007

The African Union says it is still trying to find out what prompted a large group of rebels to launch a deadly attack on its peacekeeping force in Sudan's western Darfur region on Saturday. At least 10 A.U. soldiers were killed and nearly 50 others are missing in the worst single attack since the peacekeeping mission began there three years ago. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has the latest from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

A spokesman for the Addis Ababa-based African Union, Geoffrey Mugumya says his organization is in deep mourning over the loss of at least seven peacekeepers from Nigeria, a police officer from Senegal, and two military observers from Botswana and Mali, who died after gunmen overran their base outside the town of Haskanita in south Darfur late Saturday.

"We are upset because this is the first time that we have lost 10 people at once since our mission began in Darfur," said Mugumya. "This was terrible for us. We are all devastated¹."

Mugumya declined to say who may have carried out what the African Union and the United Nations have called an outrageous² and deliberate attack. Mugumya says the commander of the peacekeeping force is in Haskanita now and will soon issue a full report to the pan-African body.

But A.U. officers have told an Associated Press reporter at the scene that they believe the gunmen were fighters belonging to a faction³ of the Sudan Liberation Army, one of the main rebel groups in Darfur. The A.U. officers say the rebels first pounded the base with rocket-propelled grenades and mortars⁴ before attacking in armored vehicles.

Reports say about 150 peacekeepers inside the base fought a fierce battle with the rebels for several hours before the peacekeepers ran out of ammunition⁵. The Sudanese army came to their rescue early Sunday, chasing away the rebels and evacuating⁶ the remaining soldiers from the destroyed base.

On Sunday, the commander of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement told the Reuters News Agency that he believed the attack was carried out by breakaway rebels from his group, working together with members of the Sudan Liberation Army Unity⁷ faction.

VOA was unable to reach the breakaway rebel leaders for comment.

The area around Haskanita was the scene of a large Sudanese government offensive against rebel fighters in recent weeks.

International experts estimate that as many as 200,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced since non-Arabs in Darfur took up arms against Khartoum's Arab-dominated government in 2003. The rebels accuse the government of marginalizing and neglecting the remote region for decades.

The United States accuses the Sudanese government of using proxy⁸ fighters called the Janjaweed to commit genocide against civilians⁹ in Darfur. Khartoum says about 9,000 people have died in the conflict.

U.N. and African Union-mediated peace talks aimed at negotiating an end to the conflict are scheduled to begin in Libya later this month. But senior rebel leaders have urged a delay, arguing that continuing violence in Darfur shows that no one is yet prepared to enter into a genuine political dialogue.

1 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

2 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

3 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

4 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

5 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

6 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

7 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。

8 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

9 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。