2006年VOA标准英语-Nigeria's Delta Leaders Criticize Military Crac

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
27 August 2006

Delta1 area of Nigeria, Monday, August 14, 2006 " src="/upimg/allimg/070417/1355430.jpg" width="210" border="0" /> Two Nigerian army soldiers stand guard in Ikang, near Calabar in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, Monday, August 14, 2006

Leaders in the Delta region of Nigeria are denouncing a security crackdown ordered by President Olusegun Obasanjo. The president ordered the clampdown more than a week ago in an attempt to prevent more kidnappings of foreign oil workers in the Delta. The protests intensified² after recent accusations³ that Nigerian troops burned hundreds of homes.

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Residents of the Port Harcourt neighborhood in the Delta say the troops became angry late Thursday after gunmen killed a soldier at a local bar, prompting the troops to go on a rampage that led to the burning of hundreds of slum houses in Port Harcourt.

A military spokesman in the area, Major Sagir Musa, denies that Nigerian troops were responsible for the rampage or that they are targeting innocent people.

"These are wild allegations, allegations that really are unfounded, dubious⁴. Militants⁵ and their collaborators are not happy on what we are doing in our efforts," said Major Musa. "In some cases, the same militants disguise in army uniforms and perpetrate dastardly acts with the aim of tarnishing⁶ the image of the Nigerian army. We are not targeting any place maliciously⁷."

The soldier killed by the gunmen had been stationed at the bar to protect foreign workers. After the killing⁸, the gunmen kidnapped two oil workers. They are the latest to be abducted⁹ in the oil-producing Niger Delta region.

So far this month, kidnappers¹⁰ have taken at least 19 foreign oil workers hostage in the Delta. Three are still missing, while the others have been released. Nigerian troops killed 10 militants in an ambush¹¹ last week.

Ledum Mitee, a community leader in the Niger Delta, says the troops should make a greater effort to distinguish between criminals and law-abiding citizens.

"We are getting very worried about the indiscriminate operation by the military because many innocent people, some communities and settlements have already come under attack and I think that there should be a deliberate effort to discriminate¹² between who are the criminals and ordinary citizens who, because of their poverty, have been forced to stay in settlements," said Mitee. "Yesterday, some people were shot, today I'm hearing some communities have come under attack and people have been displaced."

Nigeria is the world's eighth largest oil exporter, but over the last seven months attacks in the Delta have reduced oil output by 500,000 barrels per day, a 20 percent decline over previous production.

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

4 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 tarnishing   

（印花）白地沾色

参考例句：

• The causes of tarnishing gold and silver-plated connectors were studied respectively. 分别探讨了接插件镀金和镀银层变色的原因。
• Bright tin electrodeposits on copper wire are susceptible to tarnishing. 铜线材经光亮镀锡后易产生腐蚀变色。

7 maliciously   

adv.有敌意地

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His enemies maliciously conspired to ruin him. 他的敌人恶毒地密谋搞垮他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

10 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

12 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。