VOA标准英语2008年-Joint Units Set to Deploy to Sudan Trouble Spot

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
16 June 2008

A battalion¹ composed of troops from Sudan's northern and southern armies is set to deploy² Tuesday to the disputed Abyei area on the country's north-south border. As Derek Kilner reports for VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, fighting last month displaced tens of thousands, raising concerns about the prospects³ of a 2005 peace agreement.
　

Aerial view showing fire at the village of Abyei, Sudan (File photo)

The battalion of more than 750 soldiers will be drawn⁴ equally from the northern Sudan Armed Forces and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army, according to the vice⁵ president of the semi-autonomous southern government, Riek Machar. The battalion will be commanded by the SPLA's Valentino Tocmac, while the deputy commander will be from the north.

The deployment⁶ of the so-called joint⁷ integrated units is part of an agreement on Abyei signed last week by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and southern President Salva Kiir, who also serves as vice president in the national unity⁸ government.

According to U.N. estimates, several days of fighting between northern and southern troops last month displaced tens of thousands from Abyei town, and left at least 60 dead.

Under the agreement, northern and southern troops that are not part of the joint units will be withdrawn⁹ from Abyei; an interim¹⁰ administration will be put in place, with a head from the south and deputy from the north; and a police force drawn from the local population will begin patrols.

The agreement calls for the removal of restrictions¹¹ on the movement of U.N. peacekeepers, and the resettlement of those displaced by last month's clashes. Southern Vice President Riek Machar says the latter task is a top priority.

"It is urgent for the civilian¹² population to go back, those who were displaced from Abyei. And it is the start of the rainy season," said Machar.

Abyei, which contains much of Sudan's oil, has long been a stumbling block in implementing¹⁴ the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended a two-decade civil war.

The agreement set up an international commission to determine the boundaries of the area, but its findings were rejected by President Bashir. As part of last week's deal, the two sides agreed to seek international arbitration¹⁵ to determine the boundaries. Northern and southern officials are set to meet in the southern capital Juba on Friday to discuss the choice of an arbitrator.

The two sides have agreed in the past to many of the measures in the 2005 agreement, including the establishment of joint military units, with little result. But Machar, a member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, says he is optimistic about the prospects this time around.

"It has been challenging, I believe the two parties are committed to that agreement and it will be implemented," added Machar. "As for SPLM we are committed to it, we will implement¹³ our bit and hopefully the National Congress will do the same."

Residents of Abyei are set to vote in 2011 on whether to join the south or the north, at the same time as the south holds a referendum on whether to secede¹⁶ from north.

Analysts¹⁷ say the recent dispute over Abyei presented the greatest threat yet to the north-south peace agreement. South African President Thabo Mbeki will discuss the progress of the agreement with Sudanese leaders Tuesday in Khartoum and Wednesday in Juba.

1 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

2 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

3 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

7 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。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

10 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 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。

13 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

14 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

15 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

16 secede   

v.退出，脱离

参考例句：

• They plotted to make the whole Mississippi Valley secede from the United States.他们阴谋策划使整个密西西比流域脱离美国。
• We won't allow Tibet to secede from China and become an independent nation.我们决不允许西藏脱离中国独立。

17 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。