VOA常速英语2007年-Darfur Mediators Meet With Sudan's Neighbors in

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
04 December 2007

Representatives from Sudan's neighbors met with international mediators in Egypt to discuss the conflict in the Darfur region of Western Sudan. Derek Kilner has more from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi.

The U.N. mediator¹ for the Darfur conflict, Jan Eliasson, and his African Union counterpart, Salim Ahmed Salim, are in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh for discussions with representatives of Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, and Libya.

AU and U.N. sponsored peace talks began in Libya in late October, but were quickly put on hold after several major rebel groups refused to attend.

During the past month, mediators have been attempting to unite the many Darfur rebel factions² and encourage key leaders to attend future talks.

Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, and Libya are all seen as important to the peace process due to the influence they wield³ with rebel factions or the government in Khartoum.

Chad and Sudan have long sponsored and hosted rebel groups operating in each other's territory, though fewer rebels remain in Chad since the government signed a deal with Khartoum in May. Eritrea has also given support to rebels and has recently attempted to form coalitions⁴ between rebel groups.

A researcher with South Africa's Institute for Global Dialogue, Timothy Othieno, says pressure from Chad and Eritrea is essential for rebel cooperation.

"These rebel groups do not stand on their own accord. They are supported financially and militarily by nation-states. And I think the onus⁵ is on the AU and the U.N. to deal with those nation states. You need to speak to the particular backers of these rebel groups in order to get a consensus," he said. "Once you deal with the nation-states I think that dealing⁶ with the rebel groups will not be a problem, because you are dealing with the supply lines and the lifelines of these particular rebel groups."

Libya and Egypt, which are actively⁷ involved in mediation⁸ efforts, are seen by many rebel groups as being too close to the government in Khartoum. Libya is hosting the current round of peace negotiations⁹, but many rebel groups have called for the location to be moved.

Egypt has peacekeepers in Darfur as part of the AU mission and has pledged additional troops to the upcoming U.N. force, despite opposition¹⁰ from some rebels.

U.N. officials have said recently their mission is behind schedule. They expect at most 9,000 of the 26,000 troops to be deployed¹¹ by January 1.

The United Nations has had difficulty obtaining equipment, including helicopters, for the mission. Additionally, the Sudanese government has been demanding that new conditions be placed on the U.N. troops, including not conducting any flights at night and providing advance notice of troop movements.

The conflict in Darfur has killed an estimated 200,000 people since 2003 and displaced an additional 2.5 million.

1 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

2 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

3 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

4 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

5 onus   

n.负担；责任

参考例句：

• The onus is on government departments to show cause why information cannot bedisclosed.政府部门有责任说明不能把信息公开的理由。
• The onus of proof lies with you.你有责任提供证据。

6 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。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

9 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。

10 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。

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。