Rebel Leader Threatens to Blow Up Gas Plant in Nigeria

 

By Carrie Giardino
 
Talks between a militia¹ leader and the Nigerian president aimed at ending further violence in the oil-rich southern region are in a third day in Abuja. But the rebel leader has accused the Nigerian government of violating a temporary cease-fire, which had been agreed upon Wednesday.

As the talks got under way in the capital, Abuja, rebel leader Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari threatened to move forward with his attack on foreign oil facilities in the Niger Delta² region. He said the Nigerian government failed to honor the cease-fire that had been agreed to earlier in the week.

Mr. Dokubo-Asari calls his mission "Operation Locust³ Feast" because he says the western companies in cooperation with the Nigerian government are invading his people's land.

"Operation Locust Feast is a description of our situation," he said. "The international oil multinationals⁴ and the Nigerian state have invaded our land like locusts⁵ and they are feasting on us. So, Operation Locust Feast was supposed to celebrate with them in this feasting. As they are feasting on us and ravaging⁶ our land, we also want to ravage⁷ them."

Mr. Dokubo-Asari says he has told his militia to fire at the military troops patrolling the region and if they fail to stop them, he will blow up a gas plant in the region.

Mr. Dokubo-Asari's movement is demanding autonomy and control of the oil revenues from the region and President Obasanjo said Friday he would take firm action against militants⁸. But he also said the military is just conducting routine patrol operations in the region and has not violated the ceasefire.

Fighting between military forces and local militias⁹ in the Niger Delta region has been ongoing¹⁰ for more than a year, but has intensified¹¹ in recent weeks. The human rights organization, Amnesty International, estimates that at least 500 people died from fighting in the region in the month of August alone.

Carrie Giardino for VOA News, Abidjan.

注释：
Abuja 阿布贾，尼日利亚首都
violate 违反
temporary 暂时的
cease-fire 停火
Niger Delta 尼日尔三角洲
multinational 跨国公司
locust 蝗虫
patrol 巡逻
autonomy 自治
revenue 收入，税收
intensify 加强
Amnesty International 国际特赦组织

 

1 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。

2 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

3 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

4 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

5 locusts   

n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树

参考例句：

• a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
• In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西，什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ravaging   

毁坏( ravage的现在分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• It is believed that in fatigue there is a repeated process of ravaging the material. 据认为，在疲劳中，有一个使材料毁坏的重复过程。
• I was able to capture the lion that was ravaging through town. 我能逮住正在城里肆虐的那头狮子。

7 ravage   

vt.使...荒废，破坏...；n.破坏，掠夺，荒废

参考例句：

• Just in time to watch a plague ravage his village.恰好目睹了瘟疫毁灭了他的村庄。
• For two decades the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign intervention.20年来，这个国家一直被内战外侵所蹂躏。

8 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

9 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

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》