VOA标准英语2010年-Clashes in Northern Yemen Kill at Leas

overnight.  The clashes are part of a new round of fighting between pro-government tribes and Shi'ite Houthi rebels, who have been battling the government intermittently¹ since 2004.

 

It is the fifth day of bloody² clashes between the factions³.  The fighting appeared to be a fresh outbreak of an old conflict.  The rebels have fought six wars since 2004 against government forces and government allies.

More than 50 people have been killed since fighting erupted last weekend.  The heaviest fighting appears to be taking place in the region of Harf Sufyan in Amran province.  The area is home to the pro-government Bin⁴ Aziz tribe.

A tribal⁵ representative insisted the Houthi rebels had laid siege to territory controlled by the Aziz.  A Houthi rebel spokesman told al Jazeera TV, however, that the fighting involved "only the Houthis and the government."  It was not possible to verify the claim.

Both the Houthis and the Yemeni government have accused each other of violating a February truce⁶, which brought an end to the last conflict that started in August 2009.  Thousands of civilians⁷ were displaced by that conflict, and most of them have been unable to return their homes, which were badly damaged or destroyed.  They now live in tent cities, aided by the Yemeni Red Crescent Society and the United Nations.

During a press conferences earlier this month, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said there were "no signs" of a new conflict and that renewed fighting would be unacceptable. 

Professor Ahmed Abdul-Karim Saif, who teaches at the University of Sana'a, argues that the latest outbreak of fighting is a sequel to the previous round, which ended in February.

"What's going on is the consequences of the last six wars," said Saif.  "Now, what is happening is a war between the Houthis and other tribes. Those tribes, who previously⁸ supported the government, are now having a tribal revenge or a tribal feud⁹."

The head of the Aziz tribe, which says it is fighting the Houthis, belongs to Yemen's ruling General People's Congress party.  He and fellow pro-government members of parliament are demanding that Yemeni forces intervene against the Houthis.

Professor Saif believes that the latest fighting is probably linked to the scheduled arrival of a Qatari delegation¹⁰ to solidify¹¹ the truce and  rebuild.

"In the next week, a Qatari delegation is coming to the country in order to settle and enhance the truce and to start rebuilding Saada and to compensate¹² those who are dislocated because their houses were destroyed and their farms were burned," said Saif.  "And now we need to rehabilitate¹³ these people.  But, this is impossible without the help of Qatar.  Ten days ago, the Emir of Qatar was here in Sana'a and signed an agreement with (President Saleh), based upon the previous Doha agreement."

Elsewhere in Yemen, suspected al-Qaida militants¹⁴ attacked an army patrol in Shabwa province, killing¹⁵ five government soldiers and wounding another.

 

1 intermittently   

adv.间歇地；断断续续

参考例句：

• Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. 温斯顿只能断断续续地记得为什么这么痛。 来自英汉文学
• The resin moves intermittently down and out of the bed. 树脂周期地向下移动和移出床层。 来自辞典例句

2 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

3 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

4 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

7 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。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

10 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

11 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

12 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

13 rehabilitate   

vt.改造(罪犯)，修复；vi.复兴，(罪犯)经受改造

参考例句：

• There was no money to rehabilitate the tower.没有资金修复那座塔。
• He used exercise programmes to rehabilitate the patients.他采用体育锻炼疗法使患者恢复健康。

14 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。

15 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。