VOA常速英语2007-Congolese Rebel Leader Seeks Peace

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
11 October 2007

A renegade Congolese general who shattered a U.N.-mediated ceasefire earlier this week has performed a hasty turnaround, demanding a halt to the violence that has killed dozens of his men. Nick Wadhams has the story for VOA from Nairobi.

On Wednesday, General Laurent Nkunda vowed¹ to keep fighting in the North Kivu province until Congolese President Joseph Kabila agreed to incorporate his forces in eastern Congo into the national army. But now he is suggesting that the humanitarian² toll³ of the latest violence is too high.

Nkunda tells VOA that recent artillery⁴ shelling by government forces, known as FARDC, have hit a heavily populated area in eastern Congo where his men have been fighting. He says that has forced thousands of people to flee.

"There is a problem in this area of Masisi. It is a very populated area. Now we are seeing movement of population and the bombs of long-range artillery weapons of FARDC, so I saw that if we continue they can do many bad things against the population, so I asked for the ceasefire so we can limit the problem of this area," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of people already fled their homes in recent months because of fighting between Nkunda's forces and the government. The two sides had agreed to a ceasefire last month, but Nkunda says he was forced to break it because government troops were attacking him.

Nkunda, who is Tutsi, says he is protecting people in eastern Congo from Hutu militiamen who crossed into Congo after the Rwanda genocide. He launched a rebellion in 2004 to protect the Tutsi and accuses the government of supporting the Hutu.

Nkunda says that violence perpetrated by the Hutu militias⁵ against civilians⁶ was another reason why he wants the ceasefire restored. Yet at the same time, Nkunda says he is not going to be the first to lay down arms. The Congolese government has given no indication that it will agree to a new ceasefire.

"Until now, there is no response, and even now this morning we are under their attack. So for us, we think that we are going to continue the pressure for peace, for negotiation⁷, for integration⁸ and not for fighting," added Nkunda.

Despite Nkunda's call, it appears doubtful that eastern Congo will see a halt to violence anytime soon. Reports from the region suggest that up to 100 of his rebels have been killed in fighting since Monday, amid signs that the government may seek to push its advantage. The government claims to have recaptured several towns in the region.

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 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。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

8 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。