2006年VOA标准英语-Sudanese Official Says Disagreement Continue Ov

By Noel King
Khartoum
19 November 2006

Sudanese officials have been giving conflicting signals about whether the government has accepted the idea of a joint¹ U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force.  The Sudanese Foreign Ministry² says there is disagreement over who should command the force.

 

Sudan said on Sunday that it has not yet decided³ how much U.N. support it will allow in Darfur, but indicated it will not agree to U.N. command of any force in the region.

 

For months, the Sudanese government staunchly refused to allow the U.N. to support the struggling African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. Following a high-level meeting with U.N., African Union, EU, U.S. and Arab League officials last week, the U.N. said Sudan had agreed in principle to allow a joint U.N. - A.U. force.

 

That raised hopes that a joint force might stem a rising tide of violence in Darfur.

 

But since Thursday's meeting in Addis Ababa, Sudan has sent mixed signals regarding how much U.N. support it will allow.

 

Some officials have indicated that Sudan will accept U.N. troops, while others say the U.N. should only provide logistical and financial support.

 

Sudanese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ali Al-Sadiq told VOA that the U.N. and Sudan disagree over who should command the force.

 

"We differ over two issues: the number of the proposed forces in Darfur and the leadership, the command of these forces," he said. "Since the African Union is entrusted⁴ with the agreement, and the majority of the forces on the ground are Africans, there is no room for speaking about a joint command."

 

Critics have charged that Sudan is backtracking on its initial agreement to allow a joint mission in the region.

 

infinitely5 worse,' November 18, 2006  " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070509/1356170.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Jan Egeland, in Khartoum, said crisis in Darfur could become 'infinitely worse,' November 18, 2006

The U.N. has proposed sending 17,000 troops to Darfur, but Sudan says only 11,000 are necessary.

 

Violence has risen in Darfur in recent weeks.

 

U.N. Humanitarian⁶ Chief Jan Egeland on Saturday accused Sudan of continuing atrocities⁷ against civilians⁸, following a visit to the region.

 

Al-Sadiq told VOA he was surprised by Egeland's assessment⁹ of violence in Darfur.

 

Sudan has long insisted that the Darfur conflict has been exaggerated by western nations for political reasons.

 

But in recent weeks the African Union and U.N. observers have reported the deaths of scores of civilians, many of them children, in attacks by armed militias¹⁰ and the Sudan Armed Forces.

 

The Darfur conflict has cost tens-of-thousands of lives and displaced more than two-million people.

 

Sudan is charged with arming nomadic¹¹ Arab tribes to crush a 2003 rebellion by African farmers.

1 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。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

6 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。

7 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 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。

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 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

11 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。