国际组织动向－联合国唯和部队在海地采取新的军事行动

 

UN Peacekeeping Troops Launch New Operation in Haiti

 

U.N. peacekeeping troops backed by tanks have launched a new operation in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, to counter a new wave of violence by armed gangs and former army troops. The ongoing¹ violence in the Caribbean nation is threatening to destabilize democratic elections planned for this November.

 

More than one year after a violent uprising forced former president Jean Bertrand Aristide into exile, the fragile Caribbean nation of Haiti continues to face an uphill battle for security.

 

The on-and-off violence between armed Aristide supporters and their rivals in Port-au-Prince has caused many casualties since Mr. Aristide left.

 

U.N. peacekeepers backed by tanks entered the seaside slum of Cite Soleil, in an effort Thursday to disperse² armed gunmen. More than 1,000 U.N. peacekeepers are said to have taken part in the raid, which is expected to continue for a few days.

 

Officials said the operation is aimed at disarming³ violent street gangs and restoring order in the capital.

 

Since late September, downtown Port-au-Prince has become a battle ground. Clashes between pro-and anti-Aristide gangs, former military, police, and U.N. peacekeepers have claimed more than 400 lives.

 

Businesses in the capital have shut their doors, and many schools have been forced to close, leaving an estimated 30,000 children without an education.

 

During the past two weeks, violence has flared⁴. Two U.N. peacekeepers were killed in military operations in mid⁵ March. A grenade exploded outside the national elections commission last Friday, and on Monday two police were shot and then burned, their charred⁶ remains⁷ lay in the street for most of the day.

 

Haitian national police have increasingly become the targets for attacks. More than 40 police officers have been killed in recent violence.

 

U.N. forces have also been sharply criticized for their failure to respond to Haiti's deteriorating⁸ security situation.

 

Spokesman Damian Cardona says the U.N. mandate⁹ is to restore order without resorting to the use of force.

 

Cardona：Haiti is a difficult place, we are trying to do police work with the military, some of the operations could be effective if we went in, for example and I am going to exaggerate, if we entered with tanks into the slums of the city. But this is a disproportionate use of force and we are never going to do this. I would like to insist that this is not an occupation force, this is a peacekeeping force and that is why we have to be careful on the way that we act.

 

In a separate statement, the United Nations said peacekeepers are prepared to respond appropriately if they come under fire.

 

Haiti is struggling to prepare for elections in November. A spokesman from the Organization of American States says the violence is aimed at frustrating¹⁰ Haiti's political process. The organization says some progress has been made registering voters, but with presidential elections only six months away Haiti has yet to declare a single candidate.

 

Amelia Shaw, for VOA news, Port-au-Prince.

注释：

destabilize [di:5steibilaiz] vt. 动摇

uphill [5Qp5hil] adj. 艰难的，奋力的

casualty [5kAVjuElti] n. 人员伤亡

disarming [dis5B:miN] adj. 消除的

deteriorate¹¹ [di5tiEriEreit] v. 恶化

disproportionate [7disprE5pC:FEnit] adj. 不成比例的

1 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。

2 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

3 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

4 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

5 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

6 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

10 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。