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232 马其顿骚乱打破和平希望
Macedonia Riots Undermine Peace Hopes
Jeff Bieley
Skopje
25 Jul 2001 13:18 UTC
Riots in Macedonia's capital, Skopje, and overnight battles in another Macedonian city have further 1)undermined hopes for peace in the country. Government security forces are now threatening a new 2)assault on ethnic-Albanian rebels in defiance of calls for 3)restraint from 4)diplomats.
Macedonian forces exchanged gunfire with ethnic-Albanian guerrillas in Tetovo from late Tuesday to early Wednesday. The city, 35 kilometers west of Skopje, is now reported to be quiet. Many shops remain closed after hundreds fled the town Tuesday.
In the capital, a statement by the defense and 5)interior ministers warned of a new 6)offensive if the rebels do not pull back from recently 7)captured positions near Tetovo. The ministers said no further appeals for restraint from Western diplomats would be heeded.
Also in Skopje, an angry mob of youths were unchecked by police as they stoned the U.S. embassy, shattering windows and forcing its closure. No U.S. security personnel were injured.
The German and British embassies also were targeted, as were offices and vehicles of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Observer teams of the OSCE have monitored the on-again, off-again ceasefire in the west of the country for the past three weeks, talking to both sides in mediation efforts.
The government closed Macedonia's border crossings to Kosovo on Tuesday, preventing NATO peacekeepers from using key supply routes. A NATO spokesman in Skopje said he had no explanation for the closure, but said the move had forced American troops to 8)resort to using helicopters to send equipment out of Macedonia.
Tuesday's violence was 9)foreshadowed earlier in the day in a statement by a spokesman for Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski.
He accused NATO of attempting to seize control of Macedonia by 10)befriending Albanian 11)guerrillas. He also charged that international 12)envoys who are supposed to be mediating peace talks are instead "directly supporting" the rebels.
(1) undermine[QndE5maIn]v.破坏
(2) assault[E5sC:lt]n.攻击, 袭击v.袭击
(3) restraint[rI5streInt]n.抑制, 制止, 克制
(4) diplomat[5dIplEmAt]n.外交官, 有外交手腕的人
(5) interior[In5tIErIE(r)]adj.内部的, 内的n.内部
(6) offensive[E5fensIv]adj.无礼的, 攻击性的n.进攻, 攻势
(7) capture[5kAptFE(r)]n.捕获, 战利品vt.俘获, 捕获, 夺取
(8) resort to v.诉诸于, 采取
(9) foreshadow[ fC:5FAdEJ]v.预示
(10) befriend[bI5frend]vt.待人如友, 帮助
(11) guerrilla[^E5rIlE]n.游击战, 游击队
(12) envoy[5envCI]n.外交使节, 特使
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