VOA常速英语2007年-Militant Group Says Nigeria Military Behind Att

By Sarah Simpson
Lagos
15 November 2007

One of the most potent¹ militant² groups operating in Nigeria's oil-rich delta³ region, the Movement for the Emancipation⁴ of the Niger Delta, or MEND, says the Nigerian military were behind a cross-border raid that left 21 Cameroonian soldiers dead on Monday. Nigerian authorities deny the accusation⁵. The attack took place in the Bakassi Peninsula, an oil-rich strip of territory recently ceded⁶ to Cameroon after international courts overturned neighboring Nigeria's claim to the land. Sarah Simpson has more from Lagos.

The MEND militant group is denying it played any role in a bloody⁷ cross-border raid and killing⁸ of 21 Cameroonian soldiers on Monday, pointing the finger instead at the Nigerian military.

In an e-mail issued to journalists late Wednesday, MEND says the Nigerian forces attacked Cameroonian troops "because of their perceived sympathy to our cause and their blind eye to a weapons route."

The Nigerian government has denied the accusation and blamed Nigerian militant groups for the deaths. Nigeria says that it has good relations with Cameroon.

The Cameroonian soldiers were killed in the Bakassi Peninsula, a narrow strip of oil-rich land long claimed by both Nigeria and Cameroon. But Nigeria's former President Olusegun Obasanjo agreed to hand-over the land to Cameroon in 2006, after the intervention⁹ of international courts. The ongoing¹⁰ hand-over process is scheduled to be completed next year.

Bakassi lies east of Nigeria's volatile¹¹ Niger Delta where a group of armed gangs, including MEND, regularly attack oil facilities and take oil workers hostage for ransom¹². Such activities have cut Nigeria's substantial oil production by close to 25 percent.

Though MEND denies any involvement in the death of the Cameroonian soldiers, they did claim responsibility for an attack on an oil facility close to the Cameroonian border on the same day.

Since coming into office in May, Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has repeatedly vowed¹³ to bring an end to the violence that plagues his country's oil-rich south.

But government attempts to bring militant groups into negotiations¹⁴ has seen allegiances splinter. In August rival gangs fought gun battles in the streets of Port Harcourt, Nigeria's southern oil-center.

On Thursday, a crude oil pipeline¹⁵ operated by Royal Dutch Shell was blown up, according to company officials. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which has cut output by less than 50,000 barrels per day.

1 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 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。

4 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

6 ceded   

v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Cuba was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898. 古巴在1898年被西班牙割让给美国。
• A third of the territory was ceded to France. 领土的三分之一割让给了法国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

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 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。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 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。

12 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

13 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

14 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。

15 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。