VOA常速英语2007-Analyst Says Mali Troop Buildup Raises Risk for

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
22 October 2007

In Mali, the government continues to build up its troops in the northeast, the scene of recent fighting and hostage-taking. A rebel leader says he will not release hostages until government soldiers pull out. Phuong Tran brings us this report from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.

A Mali Ministry¹ of Defense² spokesman, Nouhoum Togo, says the government will continue sending troops despite the demands of rebel leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga.

Togo says the government refuses to accept violence, and will not back out because of threats. He says the government considers the fighters terrorists, rather than rebels. The defense spokesman says the state has no choice but to send more armed troops to the area.

He says civilians³ are not safe because of landmines⁴, which the government has accused Tuareg rebels of planting.

Fighting in the past two months has led to dozens of deaths, and about 40 government soldiers have been taken hostage. About half were released, after intervention⁵ from Tuareg leaders.

But they refuse to negotiate further until the government stops sending in troops.

Analyst⁶ David Zounmenou, with the Cape⁷ Town-based Institute for Security Studies, says this standoff puts at risk a month-long cease-fire, the second since rebel violence flared⁸. He says the government should stop sending in armed forces, which is seen as a threat by Ag Bahanga and his fighters.

"Failure to do this will see Mali slide back into confrontation," he said. "The government really has to change tactics and approach to the problem. If they do not withdraw the troops, he [Ag Bahanga] is going to take it as an offense⁹. We do not know what will come out of it."

The government accuses Ag Bahanga, who has led two other major Tuareg uprisings in the area, of trying to increase control over the northeast desert near Algeria to traffic drugs.

During periodic Tuareg uprisings in Mali and neighboring Niger, fighters have complained of economic neglect and poor treatment by the state.

Tuareg rebels in Niger re-launched attacks against the government there earlier this year that led to at least 45 deaths.

They deny any link with Malian rebels. But security officials note strong cultural ties, similar war strategies and smuggling¹⁰ networks between the two fighter groups.

In an effort to end rebel violence in Mali, President Amadou Toumani Toure recently announced a two-million-dollar fund aimed at development in northern Mali.

Peace deals in both Mali and Niger brought an end to major fighting more than a decade ago, but sporadic¹¹ unrest has continued.

Both countries remain among the poorest in the world, with high numbers of unemployed¹² youth, and worsening land conditions that threaten the nomads¹³' struggling pastoral livelihood¹⁴.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 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。

3 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。

4 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

8 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

9 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

10 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

11 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

12 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

13 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。