2007年VOA标准英语-Tuareg Rebels Suspected in Mali's Deadly Ambush

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
31 August 2007

Deadly ambushes¹ this week in Mali's northern desert region have left about a dozen dead and more than 30 government soldiers in captivity². Malian officials suspect Tuareg nomads³ and link the attacks to the seven-month Tuareg rebellion in neighboring Niger.  Phuong Tran brings VOA this report from VOA's West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

Malian officials are working through a Tuareg ex-rebel mediator⁴ to try to end the deadly desert attacks that have led to dozens of army defections, government soldier kidnappings, and civilian⁵ deaths this week.

Malian security officials blame the Tuaregs and link the desert violence to an on-going Tuareg rebellion in Niger's uranium-rich Agadez region.

No Malian Tuareg factions⁶ have claimed responsibility for the attacks, and Niger Tuareg rebel leaders deny any military alliance.

But U.K.-based Tuareg analyst⁷, Jeremy Keenan, says the kidnappings, seizing of government vehicles, and use of landmines⁸ in Mali are the same tactics used by Niger Tuareg fighters.

A group of Tuareg nomads near an army base in the Sahara desert north of Agadez, Niger (file photo)

Keenan says some Tuareg desert nomads in both Mali and Niger have reached a tipping point of anger toward their governments and foreign investors⁹ interested in uranium-rich parts of their desert home.

"A lot of Tuaregs have become increasingly fed up by being used in this way, by so-called peace negotiations¹⁰, nothing very concrete coming out of them, increase in frustration¹¹, irritation¹², about being used, about being manipulated, about nothing very positive happening," he said.

Tuareg fighters in both countries revolted against their governments in the early 1990s over land rights and autonomy.  The Malian government signed a peace deal with the rebels in 1992.  Niger followed in 1995.

The Malian government signed a second peace deal last year following a one-day Tuareg rebel uprising May 2006 that promised to develop the mostly abandoned desert where many Tuaregs live.

Niger Tuareg rebels have said its government has not honored the 1995 promise to share more uranium wealth.

Government officials say most peace-deal demands have been met, and that the entire population needs assistance, not just disaffected¹³ rebels.
  
In the past seven months, at least 40 Niger government forces have been killed in the resurgence¹⁴ of Tuareg violence carried out by the Niger Movement for Justice.

More than 30 government forces remain in captivity in the mountains of Niger's desert northeast.

The Niger government has dismissed the violence as banditry, widened its powers of arrest and detention¹⁵ by declaring a state of emergency in the north, and banned television broadcasts of the rebellion.

Tuareg analyst Jeremy Keenan says based on past government responses to Tuareg violence, these measures can be the first steps to a military crackdown.

"What is worrying is the danger of particularly the Niger government, but also the Malian government using fairly massive force to crack down," he added.  "This would lead almost certainly to attacks on civilian population and quite severe human suffering."

Niger and Mali rank last and close to last in a U.N. ranking of living conditions around the world.

1 ambushes   

n.埋伏( ambush的名词复数 )；伏击；埋伏着的人；设埋伏点v.埋伏( ambush的第三人称单数 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• He was a specialist in ambushes, he said, and explained his tactics. 他说自己是埋伏战斗方面的专家，并讲述了他的战术。 来自互联网
• It makes ambushes rather fun. 它使得埋伏战术非常有趣。 来自互联网

2 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

3 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》

4 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

5 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。

6 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

7 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。

8 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。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

12 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

13 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。

14 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

15 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。