VOA标准英语2009年-Thousands Flee Fighting in Congo

The U.N. refugee agency reported thousands of Congolese have been uprooted¹ by the latest escalation² of fighting in the South Kivu province of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The UNHCR said at least 35,000 people have fled from the latest skirmish between the government and the so-called Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda or FDLR and their local militia³ allies.
　
A child sits near a food distribution queue in Buhimba camp west of the provincial⁴ capital Goma (File)

The UNHCR reported well over one-half million civilians⁵ have been displaced in South Kivu since January 2009. That is when the Congolese government began its military campaign to forcefully disarm⁶ Hutu rebels and their local militia allies.

But, things have not worked out as the government envisioned. In fact, the situation has grown worse, as can be seen in the latest clashes, which erupted between government and rebel forces on July 12 in the Uvira territory of South Kivu.

UNHCR spokesman, Ron Redmond, said many of the residents of Lemera and Mulente, two of the major towns in the region north of Uvira, reportedly have fled. And, he said, an estimated 19,000 people are believed to be hiding in the forests and villages near Lemara.

"There are widespread reports from the IDPs (internally displaced people) of atrocities⁷ including accusations⁸ or murder, rape⁹, torture, on the part of FDLR [Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda] rebels," he said. "Fleeing populations also report arbitrary arrests, kidnappings, extortion and forced taxation¹⁰ by FDLR and various armed groups backing the Rwandan Hutu rebels," he explained.

Redmond said the majority of the internally displaced are seeking protection with host families in areas where it is still safe. He said others are sheltering in schools, churches and other public buildings.

This latest round of fighting has been going on in the Ruzizi River plain where the DRC borders neighboring Rwanda and Burundi. Redmond said most of the new IDPs are gathered along the Burundi border.

He said people need food, water, medical supplies and basic aid items such as blankets, mattresses¹¹ and cooking utensils¹². He said access to the area is extremely difficult. However, the UNHCR managed to get a team into the area to register some 20,000 people.

"But, it is still a fairly insecure area and any sort of a large-scale relief operation would need to be very carefully planned and we would have to ensure that we had proper security to protect our staff and those delivering the assistance. That is being looked at now," he said.

Redmond said his agency fears the renewed fighting in South Kivu will have a negative impact on a voluntary repatriation¹³ operation of Congolese refugees from neighboring Tanzania. He said the majority of refugees are from this province.

The UNHCR estimates the total number of people displaced by violence and fighting in the eastern DRC now is over 1.8 million.

1 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

5 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。

6 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。

7 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

9 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

10 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

11 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

12 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

13 repatriation   

n.遣送回国，归国

参考例句：

• The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
• Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. （六）洽办货物理赔，船舶海事处理，办理船员遣返，就医，旅游等。 来自互联网