2006年VOA标准英语-UN Calls For Peacekeepers to Protect People in

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
14 November 2006

Ron Redmond (file photo)   
  
The U.N. refugee agency is appealing to the international community to send troops to help protect civilians² and refugees in Chad from attacks by armed Arab gunmen.  The UNHCR says new attacks against villages in southeastern Chad are reported daily.  

The U.N. refugee agency says it is extremely worried that an already volatile³ situation is continuing to deteriorate⁴.  It says tens of thousands of civilians in Chad are living in a state of terror.  It says the recent spate⁵ of attacks on villages in the area that left more than 220 dead appears to mirror what is going on in the neighboring Darfur region of Sudan. 

UNHCR spokesman, Ron Redmond, says the agency fears the inter-communal hostilities⁶ are spiraling out of control and could threaten the entire southeastern region of Chad.

"UNHCR urges the international community to quickly mobilize a multi-dimensional presence in Chad to help protect hundreds of thousands of Chadian civilians and Sudanese refugees, as well as aid workers trying to help them," Redmond says. "In August, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1706 called for the deployment⁷ of a multi-dimensional presence to Chad and the neighboring Central African Republic." 

The U.N. refugee agency reports since November 7th, about five-thousand newly displaced Chadians have fled to a site for internally displaced people in Habile.  This is 45-kilometers southeast of the town of Goz Beida, where the UNHCR runs camps for tens of thousands of refugees from Darfur.

Breidjing camp in eastern Chad has seen the arrival of thousands of additional refugees coming on their own from the border (Photo: UNHCR)   
  

The UNHCR estimates at least 68-thousand Chadians have been displaced within eastern Chad this year.  Spokesman Redmond says at least 20 villages have been attacked in the region south of Goz Beida since November 4.

"Accounts we are hearing from displaced Chadians bear a striking similarity," Redmond says. "The assailants are almost always identified as being of Arab ethnicity, oftentimes known personally by victims as neighbors with who they had lived for generations.  They are often well-armed, particularly with Kalashnikovs.  They are on horseback, camel back or in trucks; sometimes in military attire⁸, sometimes in civilian¹ dress." 

The government of Chad declared a state of emergency Monday and said it was devising a strategy to deal with the increasingly violent situation in the southeastern part of the country.

Redmond says the government is bringing more troops into the region.  He notes this is a vast area with many isolated⁹ villages.  He says it is extremely difficult to police.

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

4 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。

5 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。

6 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

7 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。

8 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

9 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。