美国有线新闻 CNN 伊拉克政府军与库尔德武装发生冲突 政府军夺回基尔库克

 

First story we're explaining today involves trouble in Northern Iraq, between two groups that were allied¹ with each other in the fight against ISIS. Kirkuk is an important city in the region that's rich in oil. When ISIS swept to power in 2014, Iraqi forces abandoned Kirkuk and it came under the control of the Kurds, an ethnic² group in the area that's helped the Iraqi government and the U.S. battle ISIS terrorists.

So, what's happening there now?

In late September, the Kurds held a controversial referendum. They voted for independence. And they claimed Kirkuk as part of their own territory.

That's something the Iraqi government did not accept. And earlier this week, it sent troops to ta??ke over the city and some other Kurdish held territory in the region.

In the confrontation³ between the Kurds and the Iraqi military around Kirkuk, Kurdish officials say at least 16 Kurdish fighters were killed and dozens were wounded. The United Nations estimates that more than 61,000 people were forced to leave their homes in the area.

The instability between the Kurds and the Iraqi government is an international dilemma⁴. Just as there are a number of reasons why many Kurds want to be independent, there are a number of reasons why Iraq and several other countries don't want them to be.

SUBTITLE⁵: Who are the Kurds?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are an ethnic group spread across the Middle East. They got their own language, their own culture and history. There are about 35 million to 30 million of them. The majority are Sunni Muslims, living in Kurdish regions in Iran, in Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

The Kurds were largely nomadic⁶ until the end of the World War I, which saw the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. As borders were redrawn across the Arab world, there were calls for an independent Kurdistan. But those never materialized, and Kurds became increasingly marginalized in their own countries.

In 1988, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons on Iraqi Kurds who opposed his regime. Tens of thousands of civilians⁷ and the Kurdish rebels were killed. Iraq granted Kurds autonomy in 2005 after the fall of Saddam. In recent years, Kurdish fighters known as Peshmerga have also been on the frontlines in the fight against ISIS, in Iraq and in Syria.

Military might has brought with it greater political leverage⁸ but an independent Kurdish state will likely not happen anytime soon, regional powers like Turkey and Iran are a definitive⁹ no, both having fought Kurdish separatists over the years and even Western global powers aren't that keen. They worried about the instability such a move could spark.

1 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

2 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。

3 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

4 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

5 subtitle   

n.副题（书本中的），说明对白的字幕

参考例句：

• His new book has a subtitle.他的新书有一个副标题。
• Ah!I don't know why they don't subtitle these movies.唉！我不知道这些电影为什么不打字幕。

6 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。

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 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

9 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。