2006年VOA标准英语-Inter-Ethnic Violence Increasing in Chad

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
10 November 2006
 
The U.N. refugee agency says inter-ethnic violence is increasing in eastern Chad.  It says an interagency mission reports a recent spate¹ of attacks in the Kerfi area, southwest of Goz Beida, has also extended to the Koukou area, southeast of the town of Goz Beida.  Six agencies involved in the mission include the UNHCR, UNICEF and OXFAM.

------

		Destroyed huts are seen in Chad where more than 200 people have been killed in inter-ethnic clashes

The mission went to the Kerfi area Thursday to investigate attacks on villages that reportedly killed more than 200 people and forced hundreds to flee.  While there, the U.N. refugee agency says, the team traveled to the Koukou region where it found a pattern of burned villages. 

UNHCR spokesman, William Spindler, says vulnerable people, such as the elderly, hid in the bush while armed men on horseback raided their villages. 

"What is, again, for us very worrying is that the intensity², the brutality³ of these attacks and the numbers of people who have been affected," he said.  "At the moment, we have been able to verify 220 people dead.  But, we do not exclude the possibility of that number growing as we have more access to other villages in the area."

Spindler says the joint⁴ mission saw dozens of people fleeing with their belongings⁵, their donkeys carrying bags of food supplies. 

He says many people fled toward a site for displaced people at Habile near Koukou.  He says many of the new arrivals have started building makeshift shelters.  He notes the site already hosts 3,500 people from earlier displacements⁶ and has reached its maximum capacity. 

UNHCR spokesman, Spindler, says it is difficult to know who the attackers are.  But he says villagers say some include local Arab Chadians, not people from Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur.

"But we do not exclude the possibility that there might be also people crossing the border from Sudan," he added.  "What is clear is that there is an extension of the violence and insecurity in Darfur taking place into eastern Chad.  This has been happening for the last few months.  This is a very worrying sign that maybe the conflict in Darfur might be becoming regionalized." 

The UNHCR estimates there are 63,000 internally displaced people in Eastern Chad.  

Spindler says the UNHCR is extremely concerned about the deteriorating⁷ security situation in the region and the effect it might have on its humanitarian⁸ operation.   The agency and its partners assist more than 200,000 refugees from Darfur in 12 camps.

1 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

2 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

3 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

6 displacements   

n.取代( displacement的名词复数 )；替代；移位；免职

参考例句：

• The laws of physics are symmetrical for translational displacements. 物理定律对平移是对称的。 来自辞典例句
• We encounter only displacements of the first type. 我们只遇到第一类的驱替。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 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。