Mali Rebels Gain Ground in North

 　　Separatist Tuareg rebels in Mali attacked the northern garrison¹ town of Gao on Saturday, one day after taking the town of Kidal. The advances come as the military government scrambles² to avoid sanctions by the regional bloc³ ECOWAS.

　　Residents of Gao told VOA that heavy weapons fire started in Gao early Saturday as Tuareg rebels and the Malian army clashed. The attack comes one day after rebels took another major northern city, Kidal.

　　The soldiers who took power in a March 22 coup⁴ said they wanted to put up a more robust⁵ military response to the two-month-old rebellion in the north, and preserve Mali’s territorial⁶ integrity. But since the coup, rebels - who want independence for the north - have only gained ground.

　　People who talked with VOA from Gao did not want to be identified, out of concern for their security.

　　"Things are really heating up," says a man who was among people seeking shelter at a marketplace as heavy gunfire erupted around the town. "There is shooting everywhere. We have faith in God, but really right now we’ve got no idea what to do."

　　He said between the disarray⁷ in the Malian army and attacks by rebels, people feel trapped.

　　"We are in the crossfire⁸ here," he went on to say. "We’ve got no idea what our future holds with the Malian army, we’ve got no idea what our future holds with the rebels."

　　Another resident of Gao said rebels were said to be on the outskirts⁹ of Gao on Friday evening but waited until the morning to attack.

　　He says, now that the rebels are here in the middle of town, the army can’t do a thing. The army might have done something before the rebels got to the town, but now it’s done. The man says the people have no army to defend them.

　　Tuareg rebels have battled for autonomy for decades. But northern Mali is home to several ethnic¹⁰ groups. This man noted¹¹ that one of those groups, the Songhai, will never accept independence.

　　"You won’t find a single Songhai who will accept this, he says. Independence for what? Mali is one country, indivisible," he said.

　　For now, the man said, people in Gao are worried about how they are going to eat, especially with looming¹² economic sanctions. ECOWAS on Thursday gave the junta¹³ 72 hours to hand power back to civilians¹⁴ or borders would be closed and Mali's account at the regional central bank would be frozen.

　　This ultimatum¹⁵ by ECOWAS, how are people going to eat? this man asks.  How will people find money? People are going to starve to death, he says.

　　After the rebels took Kidal on Friday, junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo appealed to ECOWAS for assistance.

　　A delegation¹⁶ of the military junta traveled to Burkina Faso on Friday. ECOWAS has named Burkina President Blaise Compaoré mediator¹⁷ for Mali.

1 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

2 scrambles   

n.抢夺( scramble的名词复数 )v.快速爬行( scramble的第三人称单数 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• The breaking of symmetry scrambles the underlying order of nature. 对称性的破坏会打乱自然界的根本秩序。 来自互联网
• The move comes as Japan scrambles for ways to persuade women to have more babies. 这一行动的出现正值日本政府想尽各种办法鼓励妇女多生育孩子。 来自互联网

3 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

6 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

7 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

8 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

9 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

10 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。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

13 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

14 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。

15 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

16 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。

17 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。