VOA标准英语2015--科尔多凡冲突大赦民众

Amnesty: Civilians² Targeted in S.Kordofan Conflict

Amnesty International has released a new report describing – what it called -- four years of unrelenting attacks against civilians in Sudan’s South Kordofan State. The civilian¹ casualties result from four years of conflict between the Khartoum government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North.

The report -- called Don’t We Matter – said that “many of the attacks targeted civilian areas…without warning and without legitimate³ military targets.”

It said people living in rebel controlled areas “have endured an unrelenting campaign of aerial and ground attacks by the Sudan Armed Forces.” And that “during the last four years, there have been military offensives by one or both parties to the conflict which have increased the dangers faced by civilians.”

Nyagoah Tut is Amnesty International’s country campaigner for Sudan and South Sudan. She said one characteristic of the conflict, especially in areas controlled by the SPLA-North, has been the use of ground shelling and aerial bombardments against civilians.

“Between January and April, 374 bombs fell in civilian populated areas of South Kordofan. This has injured about 70 people and also killed 30 people. But other than what has happened between January and April, hundreds of people have died as a result of this conflict. Thousands of others have been injured as a result of this conflict, as well.”

In April of 2014, Sudan launched a military offensive called Decisive Summer.

Tut said, “A characteristic of Decisive Summer has been attacks against civilian areas, not only on SPLA-North positions, but in civilian areas and where civilians are living. People say that if they are bombing hospitals, then there is nowhere else Sudanese air forces are not going to attack.”

Amnesty accused Sudan of violating international humanitarian⁴ and human rights laws. Tut said Khartoum has blocked humanitarian access to rebel-held areas.

“So, for instance, last year, between May 2014 and January 2015, there was a measles⁵ outbreak in the region. Children in SPLA-North controlled areas did not have access to much-needed vaccines⁶, though [they] had been distributed by UNICEF and WHO in other parts of Sudan.”

She said Amnesty has had difficulty confirming allegations of abuse by rebels because the government has denied access to SPLA-North controlled areas. However, other organizations have accused the rebels of violating rights laws in government held regions. The rebels do not have warplanes.

Tut alleged⁷ cluster bombs are being dropped by government planes.

“We documented that MIG fighter jets and Antonovs are being used to drop cluster munitions⁸. The cluster bomb is several bomblets put into one. They either explode on impact or might not explode on impact. In several areas of South Kordofan, there are bits of these bombs that have not exploded. So, children have also been killed. We’ve documented several children who’ve been playing with – what they call – shiny objects only to end up losing a limb or even dying from this.”

Tut said civilians try to protect themselves.

“One of the most remarkable⁹ things is the resilience and the courage of people living in these areas. All over SPLA-North controlled areas there have been foxholes¹⁰ that have been dug in the schools, near hospitals, near homes. And this is where civilians tend to hide. In other areas where there are caves and crevasses¹¹, then civilians go to these areas. Unfortunately, even these foxholes and caves are not safe sometimes.”

She said the resilience of civilians in South Kordofan should inspire international action to end the conflict and bring those responsible for abuses to justice. Part of that, she said, would be to extend the U.N. arms embargo¹² in Darfur to South Kordofan and Blue Nile State, which is also part of the conflict.

Khartoum has accused rebels of hiding in civilian areas and thus attracting bombing attacks.

Tut said, “In places where the bombs were falling, there were no military targets near these places. There were no SPLA-North positions in these civilian areas. So we have not found evidence supporting what the Sudanese government is saying that these areas are being used by the SPLA-North.”

Tut said there’s no difference between a cluster bomb used in Syria and one used is South Kordofan. The Sudanese government has denied several times it uses the weapons.

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 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

9 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

10 foxholes   

n.散兵坑( foxhole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Man foxholes were hollowed out by the soldiers before fighting. 战斗打响之前，士兵们挖出许多个人掩体。 来自互联网
• Digging foxholes can be effective providing your enemy does not have garrison clearing units. 在敌人没有清空建筑单位时，挖散兵坑也是有效的方式。 来自互联网

11 crevasses   

n.破口，崩溃处，裂缝( crevasse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Splays are commonly formed by currents from crevasses in levees. 嗽叭形堆积通常由堤防决口的洪流所形成。 来自辞典例句
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses. 冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。 来自辞典例句

12 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。