VOA常速英语2007年-DRC Conflict Intensifies Forcing More Civilians

By Selah Hennessy
Goma, DRC
14 December 2007

The United Nations High Commissioner¹ for Refugees is visiting eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR) Friday. Hundreds of thousands of civilians² in eastern Congo have been forced to flee their homes since an ongoing³ conflict between the army and renegade troops began four months ago.  Over the past two weeks the conflict has intensified⁴, forcing thousands more civilians to flee the ensuing violence. Selah Hennessy reports for VOA from Goma.

U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) chief Antonia Guterres began his five-day visit in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Thursday.

Friday he visits Goma, the regional capital in the east.

An armed conflict, between the army and renegade troops loyal to former general Laurent Nkunda, has thrown eastern DRC into turmoil⁵ for almost four months.

In early December the army, with support from the United Nations, launched a major offensive against the renegades, pouring around 20,000 soldiers into the region.

But after initial losses, the highly-disciplined guerrilla rebels have over the last few days re-taken all the positions they lost early in the conflict.

This means some towns are being fought over repeatedly in the course of only a few days.  Many civilians have had to flee fighting several times, making the long walk from their villages to safety.

The United Nations estimates around 800,000 civilians are currently displaced within the eastern North Kivu province, where most of the fighting has taken place.

U.N. field coordinator⁶ Marie Antoinette Okimba, based in Goma, says around half those civilians are living in displacement⁷ camps. Most others, she says, stay with their families in Goma and around the region.

She says those who are displaced want to return home.

"I think many of them are thinking about the security situation," she said.  "I think when the security situation allows, people are going very, very quickly in their own village because they have land, they have cultivation⁸, and they have food."

But the conflict is right now showing no sign of slowing down.

Guterres is to visit areas around Goma where those that have been displaced are sheltering, including official camps and makeshift sites that have been set up to deal with the mass onslaught of now homeless civilians.

1 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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》

5 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

6 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

7 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

8 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。