VOA常速英语2007年-2007 Sees Renewed Fighting in Congo

By Selah Hennessy
Goma
20 December 2007

In late 2007, government and rebel fighters resumed fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, struggling for control of hills in the eastern part of the country and forcing hundreds of thousands of Congolese from their homes. With a political solution seemingly untenable, the situation risks turning into an international conflict, bringing in neighboring countries. Selah Hennessy reports for VOA from the regional capital Goma.

Two weeks ago, government forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo launched a major offensive against renegade troops based in the eastern province, North Kivu.

In the latest outbreak of fighting in a decade of violence, the rebels have repeatedly defeated the largely undisciplined and untrained government soldiers and now hold a stronger position than before the offensive began.

For the past 10 years, the civilian¹ population here has been the main victim of the fighting. Many cannot count the number of times they have been forced to flee, with their worldly possessions on their back, their homes and farmland left behind.

Like ants, they walk in rows miles long, fleeing the violence, looking for safety.

Some find refuge in displacement² camps, others with host families. But many are forced to sleep outside, in the cold, without food or shelter. Many are robbed by roaming fighters; many are raped³.

The conflict goes back to neighboring Rwanda's genocide, in which almost one-million ethnic⁴ Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred. The Hutu perpetrators of that genocide, including a group known as Interhamwe, and more than a million Hutu refugees fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1994.

Two years later, Rwanda's Tutsi-led government supported a rebel movement in Congo determined⁵ to wipe out the former Interahamwe and other perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide.

The rebel movement kicked off the first of two civil wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Both wars have revolved⁶ around the Hutu refugees living in Congo. Both have also revolved around Congo 's extensive supply of rich mineral resources. The potential to exploit those resources has brought many of Congo 's neighbors into the conflict.

The last civil war officially ended in 2003 and elections were held in 2006, but ethnic tensions remain.

Researcher Aloys Tegera of Goma's independent Pole Institute, says the rebels, led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda, want to bring home about 40,000 ethnic Tutsis who fled Congo between 1994 and 1996, when the Hutu refugees arrived.

"What happened in northern Kivu? All the Tutsi elements of northern Kivu were chased away by ex-Interahamwe who arrived in July 1994," he said. "Since then most of these people have been living in camps in Rwanda . We estimate between 40,000 to 60,000 official refugees [from Congo] are in camps in Rwanda ."

Tegera says the rebels also want to disarm⁷ and deport⁸ Rwandan Hutu militiamen, known as FDLR, who include ex-Interhamwe and leaders of the genocide. A 2006 peace agreement called for the rebels to join the national army and together both forces would push the FDLR out of Congo.

"An entire community was ethnically⁹ purified. In the end, the Tutsi community here does not trust anyone," he said. "Part of the negotiation¹⁰ was, 'Let us have a joint¹¹ force that can fight this FDLR. Once the territories of Ritshuru, Masisi, northern Kivu have got rid of this FDLR, who is a danger to our population, we will be ready to go somewhere else.' Before then I do not think so."

In August, the agreement fell apart.

The government wants Nkunda's men to integrate fully¹² into the army, which means some would be deployed¹³ outside North Kivu. The government also says Nkunda only wants to exploit the mineral and farmland-rich eastern province.

Nkunda says he wants his men to stay in North Kivu to fight the FDLR.

Congo President Joseph Kabila says he will not negotiate, but his army of 20,000 troops does not appear able to defeat the insurgency¹⁴.

The United Nations has 4,500 peacekeepers in North Kivu and a mandate¹⁵ to protect the population, but they have not taken part in direct combat. Congo's government and many civilians¹⁶ say the U.N. force is not doing enough to fulfill¹⁷ its mandate.

U.N. aid representative Louis-Etienne Vigneault says Congo's population is suffering more now than since the civil war officially ended four years ago.

"We have now reached 437,000 new IDPs [internally displaced people] in a year. That is concerning numbers. Already this year we have more new IDPs than Darfur had in one year, so it has really gotten worse," he said. "Back in August we were at 225,000. So in roughly four months we got more than 200,000 more."

Vigneault says the displaced are facing serious security risks.

"These new IDPs face serious protection issues, because there is very little presence to ensure security and basic protection for these IDPs; so they face lootings, recruitment for forced labor¹⁸, sexual violence, all those sort of protection issues that are caused by various armed groups that are present in the area," he added.

Vigneault says the numbers now exceed the capacity of aid organizations and local communities to take care of the displaced.

The U.N. Security Council is voting this month on whether or not to renew the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

3 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 revolved   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The fan revolved slowly. 电扇缓慢地转动着。
• The wheel revolved on its centre. 轮子绕中心转动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

8 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

9 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 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。

14 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

15 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

16 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。

17 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。