VOA标准英语2014--中非宗派暴力上升

 

CAR Sectarian Violence Rising 中非宗派暴力上升

The human rights group Amnesty International says U.N. peacekeepers must take bold action to protect civilians² in Central African Republic. It says there’s an escalating³ wave of sectarian violence throughout the country.

Amnesty’s Steve Cockburn says despite U.N. peacekeepers being deployed⁴ in September, the killings⁵ and displacement⁶ of civilians are on the rise.

“Over the last month we’ve seen the situation deteriorate⁷ somewhat in Central African Republic. [In] early October there was an upsurge in violence in Bangui where over 30 people were killed in fighting between different armed groups and international forces in which, of course, the civilian¹ population suffered from,” he said.

Cockburn is Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

He said, “During our recent mission to CAR, we uncovered a very significant upsurge in violence also in the central area of the country – around the town of Bambari and Dekoa where there’s a really quite a volatile⁸ mix of increasingly heavily armed groups -- whether they are former Seleka soldiers, armed Peuhl raiders or anti-balaka, who are fighting each other vying⁹ for power and also ultimately preying¹⁰ on the population.”

The mostly Muslim former Seleka rebels helped topple former President Francois Bozize in March of 2013. The Seleka then attacked Christian¹¹ communities, which led to the rise of anti-balaka forces and revenge attacks. Added to the mix is the nomadic¹² pastoralist Peulh ethnic¹³ group, which has sided with the Seleka.

The U.N. mission does not have its troops fully¹⁴ deployed yet – and Cockburn says it’s struggling to protect civilians. But he said,” If the mission is to have any credibility…. bold measures are needed.”

“First of all, they need to increase the troop capacity. The U.N. Security Council resolution talked of up to 12,000 peacekeepers and police to be deployed in Central African Republic. Two-thirds of that capacity at present. They simply do not have the capacity to cover enough of the country and to cover those areas where they’re being deployed.”

He said, for example, the U.N. troops were not able to deal with attacks and revenge attacks in and around Bambari – some 380 kilometers northeast of Bangui. He said the troops may be stretched too thin or out-gunned. But at times, they have been effective.

“We do have examples elsewhere where when they have been present, for example, in the town of Dekoa. There were 14 civilians killed in an attack in a Catholic church. But a much bigger massacre¹⁵ was prevented when the U.N. and French forces stepped in. Which shows that, when they are able to react in time, they are able to do things,” he said.

Besides attacking each other, the armed groups are reported to have committed banditry.

“One of the most common things that we heard from populations in Bangui, for example, was that whereas previously¹⁶ perhaps they may have seen some of the anti-balaka as people who are defending their communities from attack, they now very much see them as those who are preying on their communities. They are no longer able to attack Muslim communities, who have largely, but not exclusively left. So they’re now attacking the Christian communities and taking their goods, burning their houses and their shops,” said Cockburn.

Many Muslims have been displaced in CAR and now live in isolated¹⁷ communities around the country. Cockburn said some are protected by peacekeeping forces, but described their existence as difficult.

“There are significant worries about what will happen to those populations in the long term. We did hear some reports of some Muslim communities coming back, but certainly not on a large scale and certainly nothing that would replace the huge exodus¹⁸ that we saw earlier in the year.”

Amnesty International supports the International Criminal Court’s decision to open an investigation¹⁹ in Central African Republic. It says armed groups have been committing abuses with impunity²⁰. In July, Amnesty published a report naming 20 high and low level commanders that it says should be investigated for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Cockburn said, “All of those are essentially²¹ still at large. There is a major desire within the population to arrest those leaders of the anti-balaka and of Seleka. Largely, people know where they live. People know where they are. They are of course well armed. They will defend themselves. But we think it’s incumbent²² on the international community and on the CAR authorities that those leaders are pursued, investigations²³ are opened and impunity is put to an end.”

CAR has a transitional government that Amnesty International says should play a leading role in ending the violence. But it adds that a lot more international support is needed to do so, including financing, logistics and security.

1 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。

2 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。

3 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

7 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

8 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

9 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

10 preying   

v.掠食( prey的现在分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生

参考例句：

• This problem has been preying on my mind all day. 这个问题让我伤了整整一天脑筋。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For a while he let his eyes idly follow the preying bird. 他自己的眼睛随着寻食的鸟毫无目的地看了一会儿。 来自辞典例句

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

13 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

16 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。

17 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

18 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

19 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

20 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

21 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

22 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

23 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。