VOA常速英语2007-Killings Renew Accusations of Niger Government A

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
03 October 2007

In Niger, rebels and government officials continue to trade accusations¹ about an attack earlier this week that killed about a dozen people. Army officers say they killed rebel fighters, while human rights activists² and Tuareg rebels say the army is targeting civilians³.  Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West Africa Bureau in Dakar.

Rebels deny an army report that soldiers killed 19 Tuareg rebels while intercepting⁴ a drug-smuggling convoy⁵ on Monday near the Algerian border.

An army officer said Tuesday the army seized weapons and drugs in the northern Agadez region.

Rebel leaders say those killed were not part of the armed opposition⁶.

Salvatore Sagues with the London-based human rights group Amnesty International says civilians are being targeted by government soldiers.

He says Amnesty has documented cases of people who have been arrested and held for weeks without having access to lawyers or being charged.

"It is very dangerous to give to security forces the right to detain and to maintain in detention⁷ without being brought before a judge for weeks, because there is always a risk of torture or ill treatment in order to extract confessions," he said.

Government officials dismiss this concern and say security forces are only arresting suspects when there is serious and consistent evidence against them.  Officials say they are dealing⁸ with suspects according to the law.

The government recently declared a state of alert in the northeast Agadez region where Tuareg rebels have been launching attacks on government convoys⁹, planting landmines¹⁰ and taking government soldiers hostage over the past eight months.

Though government officials say they do not prevent reporting on the Tuareg rebellion, journalists are effectively prevented from traveling to the north, and cannot broadcast images of the fighting.

Officials have said, if necessary, they will extend the state of alert beyond the initial three months and then declare a state of emergency. 

Fighting in the Tuareg stronghold in the northeast of the country has killed at least 45 government soldiers and led to hostage taking and national army defections.  The Niger government has requested international intervention¹¹ to secure the release of dozens of government soldiers still held in the rebels' northeast mountain base. 

The rebels are demanding to be integrated into the army, and they want a bigger share of profits from the uranium mines located in their northeastern desert area.  The government says it has fulfilled most of a 1995 peace deal with the Tuareg rebels.

The government refuses to negotiate with the fighters until they put down their arms, dismissing them as drug smugglers and bandits.

1 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。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 intercepting   

截取（技术），截接

参考例句：

• The police had been intercepting my mail, ie reading it before it was delivered. 警方一直截查我的邮件。
• We've been intercepting radio transmissions from Moscow. 我们已从莫斯科拦截到无线电信号。

5 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。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

10 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

11 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。