VOA常速英语2008年-Iraqi PM Vows to Continue Basra Offensive Despi

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
27 March 2008

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says he will continue the Iraqi military offensive in Basra "to the end" with no negotiations¹ or retreat, despite angry protests in Shi'ite districts calling for his resignation. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has been monitoring events from our Middle East Bureau in Cairo and reports intense fighting in Basra continued for a third day.

Tens of thousands of supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took to the streets of Baghdad to protest the Iraqi military crackdown on Shi'ite militias³ in the southern city of Basra. Huge demonstrations⁴ were held in several districts of the capital, including the sprawling⁵ slum of Sadr City, a stronghold of Sadr's militia², the Mahdi Army.

Protesters chanted slogans denouncing Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and demanding his resignation.

Prime Minster Maliki vowed⁶ he will "never back off" from his promise to rid Basra of what he called "criminals and gunmen." The prime minister, who is in Basra to supervise the military operation, has given the militants⁷ until Friday to surrender their weapons.

Many businesses and shops in the Shi'ite districts of Baghdad have stayed closed since al-Sadr called for a general strike to protest the offensive.

Officials from al-Sadr's political movement say they feel the government is targeting them, and most of the fighting has taken place in districts controlled by Mahdi Army fighters.

Iraqi officials have insisted the offensive is not targeting the al-Sadr political organization, only what they term "outlaws⁸" and "criminal groups" who they say are operating "under the banner" of the Mahdi Army, but are not really loyal to the cleric.

Iraqi and U.S. officials have downplayed concerns the fighting in Basra threatens to wreck⁹ a ceasefire that had been in place between Sadr loyalists and rival Shi'ite groups that control much of Iraq's security forces. U.S. military officials have said the al-Sadr ceasefire is a key factor behind the reduction of violence in Iraq during the past year.

Speaking in Ohio, President Bush said the Basra offensive is a sign of the progress Iraqi security forces have made.

"This offensive builds on the security gains of the surge and demonstrates to the Iraqi people that their government is committed to protecting them. There is a strong commitment by the central government of Iraq to say that no one is above the law."

Meanwhile, fighting rocked Basra for a third straight day. Gunbattles also erupted in the southern city of Kut, while curfews remained in effect elsewhere in the south.

A bomb explosion damaged one of the two main oil pipelines¹⁰ from Basra, disrupting oil exports from southern Iraq for the first time since 2004.

A spokesman for Iraq's Southern Oil Company said the attack would cut crude exports from Basra by about a third. But Iraqi government officials in Baghdad told the Reuters news agency the damage was not serious and could be repaired quickly.

In Baghdad, barrages¹¹ of rocket and mortar¹² fire slammed into the heavily-fortified Green Zone government and diplomatic compound. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad said a U.S. government employee was killed in the Green Zone attacks that officials say appeared to originate in Shi'ite neighborhoods.

1 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。

2 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

3 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

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

6 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。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

9 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

10 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

11 barrages   

n.弹幕射击( barrage的名词复数 )；火力网；猛烈炮火；河上的堰坝v.火力攻击（或阻击）( barrage的第三人称单数 )；以密集火力攻击（或阻击）

参考例句：

• In many Basidiomycetes barrages develop. 在许多担子菌中也发生一些栅栏。 来自辞典例句
• It's fun to be able to run around and do instant Barrages. 一边瞬发奥术弹幕一边四处跑确实很有趣。 来自互联网

12 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。