2007年VOA标准英语-Uganda, DRC, Seek to Ease Tension After Border

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
09 August 2007

Tensions have flared¹ between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo after clashes along their disputed border resulted in the death of a British oil worker and the capture of four Ugandan soldiers. Nick Wadhams has more from our East Africa bureau in Nairobi.

Relations have been strained between Congo and Uganda ever since Uganda-backed rebels that sought to overthrow² the Congolese government in a 1998-2003 civil war.

The situation has only gotten worse as the two sides lay claim to an island called Rukwanzi in Lake Albert, where oil reserves are said to be high. The sides say that Britain and Belgium, which were the colonial rulers of Uganda and Congo, did not mark the border properly.

That trouble threatened to spread after Congolese forces captured four Ugandan soldiers on July 29 and the British contractor³, Carl Nefdt, was killed last week on the lake. He was working for the Canadian oil company Heritage Oil. Later in the day, a Congolese soldier was killed in a gunfight between soldiers of Uganda and Congo.

Congo has denied that its soldiers were responsible for the British man's death. Lake Albert is awash with bandits and militias⁴.

Allied5 Democratic Force (ADF) in a fierce battle, 28 March 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070811/1128431.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

UPDF soldiers patrol near the border with Congo after they engaged rebels from the Congolese Allied Democratic Force (ADF) in a fierce battle, 28 March 2007

But the two sides, anxious to avoid a larger conflict, say they are working to ease any strain. They met on Rukwanzi Island on Monday and the four Ugandan soldiers, who had been accused of crossing the border illegally, were released. The four were said to have been on a routine patrol.

Uganda's army spokesman, Felix Kulayige, says more talks were held Wednesday. He says they agreed to send a joint⁶ team to determine what happened, and to try to settle the dispute over the island. They will also hold regular meetings in the future.

"There is no tension," he said. "They agreed to emphasize respect for the protocols⁷ and educating the officers and men along the borders on what these protocols are and their implications. In fact they have promised to investigate who in particular carried out the attacks and have promised to punish the culprits."

There has long been concern about the Congolese soldiers who monitor the border along Lake Albert. Last year, the army seized 30 fishermen, who later claimed that the troops tried to extort⁸ money and goods from them.

The Canadian oil company, Heritage, has suspended work on Lake Albert and Ugandan defense⁹ forces have taken over security for Heritage and a British oil company working on the lake.

1 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。

2 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

3 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

4 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

5 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

6 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。

7 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

8 extort   

v.勒索，敲诈，强要

参考例句：

• The blackmailer tried to extort a large sum of money from him.勒索者企图向他勒索一大笔钱。
• They absolutely must not harm the people or extort money from them.严格禁止坑害勒索群众。

9 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。