Pentagon Closely Monitors Situation in Sudan's Darfour Regio

Alex Belida

U.S. defense¹ officials are closely monitoring developments in Sudan's troubled Darfur region but say there are no plans at present for any military response to the humanitarian² crisis there.

The situation in Sudan's western Darfur region has been called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world by senior U.N. officials and possibly a case of genocide comparable in character, if not scale, to the Rwanda bloodshed of 10 years ago.

Pentagon officials are monitoring the situation closely.

But they tell VOA the secretary of defense has not been requested to prepare any military response.

U.S. military personnel have had considerable experience in the past decade responding to humanitarian crises, including deployments in Somalia and Rwanda.

But defense officials note they have a lot of other missions at the present time, a clear reference to the military's multiple engagements worldwide, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti.

An estimated 10,000 people have died in a year of fighting between Sudanese government-backed Arab militias⁵ and rebels in the Darfur region. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes, many of them fleeing into neighboring Chad.

The U.S. State Department has blamed much of the crisis on the Arab militias, who it says have attacked and burned undefended villages, murdered and raped⁷ inhabitants and displaced survivors⁸, even though most of the region's mainly black African residents are Muslim.

Peace talks are under way in Chad between Sudanese officials and representatives of rebel groups. International observers are on hand, including U.S. officials.

The U.S. government has been working closely with other countries to push diplomatically for a peace settlement.

At the same time, relief organizations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, are trying to provide humanitarian assistance to the hundreds of thousands affected⁹ by the fighting. The State Department announced a $9 million emergency aid package for Darfur refugees in Chad in late February.
注释：
Sudan [su:5dAn] n. 苏丹，非洲东北部一国家，位于埃及南部，喀土穆是苏丹首府，也是第一大城市。
Darfur [dB:`fJE(r)] 达尔福尔，苏丹西部一地区。
genocide [5dVenEu7said] n. 种族灭绝
Rwanda [ru5AndE] n. 卢旺达，非洲中东部一国家，基加利是卢旺达首都和最大城市。
Pentagon [5pentE^En] n. 五角大楼
deployment³ [di5plCimEnt] n. 部署
Somalia [sEu5mB:liE] n. 索马里，非洲最东部的一个国家，临亚丁湾和印度洋，首都摩加迪沙，是全国最大的城市。
Haiti [5heiti] n. 海地，位于西印度群岛的一个国家，由伊斯帕尼尔奥拉群岛的西部和两个近海岛屿组成，太子港是该国首都和最大城市。
Sudanese [su:dE5ni:z] adj. 苏丹的
militia⁴ [mi5liFE] n. 民兵
Chad [tFAd] 乍得共和国，the Republic of Chad，是非洲中北部内陆国，恩贾梅纳为首都和最大城市。
rape⁶ [reip] vt. 强奸
inhabitant [in5hAbitEnt] n. 居民，居住者
displaced survivors 难民幸存者
diplomatically [7diplE5mAtikEli] adv. 外交上，外交地
relief organizations 救济组织

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 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。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

5 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

6 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

7 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。