2006年VOA标准英语-UN Expresses Concern About Civilian Casualties

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
12 December 2006

belongings1 of students at a school which came under artillery2 attack by Tamil Tigers in North Eastern village Kallaru, 7 Dec. 2006<br /><br />" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070511/1631550.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Sri Lankan soldiers sort the belongings of students at a school which came under artillery attack by Tamil Tigers in the North Eastern village of Kallaru, 7 Dec. 2006

The United Nations has expressed concern about the plight³ of civilians⁵ in Sri Lanka caught in the crossfire⁶ between Tamil Tiger rebels and the military. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, hundreds of civilians have been killed in the fighting, and thousands displaced.

In a statement on Tuesday, the United Nations called for the protection of "desperate civilians" in Sri Lanka. They are trapped in areas where Tamil Tiger rebels and the military have been engaged in intense fighting in recent weeks. The U.N. has called on both sides to stop indiscriminate shelling of civilian⁴ areas, saying this is resulting in deaths, injuries and forced evacuations.

The immediate⁷ area of concern is Batticaloa district where the rebels and the military have fought several battles around the rebel-held town of Vakarai.

Davide Vignati, at the International Committee of the Red Cross, says thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting.

 

"The most critical situation is in Vakarai," he said. 'We have more than 30,000 displaced people, and these people are surviving only thanks to the support of humanitarian⁸ organizations. A humanitarian convoy⁹ provides them with food and drinking water."

The rebels say dozens of civilians have been killed in recent days in army artillery fire around the town. Officials admit civilians have been killed, but accuse the rebels of using them as human shields, and of positioning artillery in civilian areas. The guerrillas deny the charges.

Humanitarian groups are also battling to assist about 60,000 refugees in two other areas subject to intense fighting in the past year: the northern army-held Jaffna district, and the northeastern Trincomalee district. Many civilians have taken shelter in schools and temples; others are living in temporary camps.

The situation is particularly grim in Jaffna where the government has tried to isolate¹⁰ the rebels by blocking the only highway that connects this district to the mainland. As a result, the supply of essential goods has been reduced to a trickle¹¹, intensifying¹² shortages of food and fuel. Davide Vignati says the situation is critical.

"Prices are growing, there is shortage of some items but we cannot see any immediate problem of starvation. They cannot carry out their normal activities," he explained.

Truce¹³ monitors say civilian casualties account for more than one-third of the total this year, after both sides resumed fighting in violation¹⁴ of a 2002 truce. Three thousand four hundred have died, 1,200 of them civilians.

The renewed fighting follows four years of relative peace when the rebels and the government were pursuing peace negotiations¹⁵. The rebels have been fighting for a homeland for the minority Tamil community since 1983.

1 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。

2 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

3 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

4 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。

5 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。

6 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

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。

9 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

10 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

11 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

12 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

13 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

14 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

15 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。