2007年VOA标准英语-UN Report Says Suicide Bombings on Rise in Afgh

By Daniel Schearf
Islamabad
09 September 2007

A United Nations report says the number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan is rising fast and would this year likely reach a record high. As Daniel Schearf reports for VOA from Islamabad, the report says most Afghani suicide bombers¹ were trained, supported, and many recruited, in neighboring Pakistan.

Investigators2 check the scene after a suicide attack in Kabul, 31 Aug 2007<br />" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070914/0943110.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Investigators check the scene after a suicide attack in Kabul, 31 Aug 2007

 The U.N. report issued Sunday says the number of suicide bombings by insurgents³ in Afghanistan has rocketed from 17 attacks in 2005 to 123 in 2006.

The report also says that record high number is likely to be surpassed this year. In the first eight months there have already been 103 suicide attacks, with more expected.

The report says most suicide bombers were Afghani nationals but received training or support in neighboring Pakistan's tribal⁴ region where many were recruited from Islamic theology schools called madrassas.

Adrian Edwards is the spokesman for the U.N. mission in Afghanistan. He says suicide attacks have grown along with the insurgency⁵.

"They were allowed to strengthen if you like. They, to some degree, seem to have managed to occupy a geographic⁶ area along the border between these two countries. And, from there, that gives them a certain ability to carry out their acts with a high degree of impunity," said Edwards.

Pakistan has deployed⁷ tens of thousands of soldiers to the region to try to prevent militant⁸ activity but has so far failed to stop the training and movement of insurgents across the porous⁹ border.

The report, partly based on interviews with alleged¹⁰ failed suicide bombers in jail, said in contrast to most of the world's suicide bombers the majority of those in Afghanistan were young, poor, and uneducated, and often not aware of what they were getting into.

"In some cases they were duped. In some cases coerced," he added. "There were one or two who were committed. But, by and large these were not fantasists."

The report says although the vast majority of suicide bombers are aimed at military and government targets, around 80 percent of casualties are civilians¹¹.

It says to curb¹² the growth of suicide bombers the international community needs to bolster¹³ the role of Afghanistan's security forces, the building of basic public services, and the rule of law to prevent perceptions of foreign occupation and injustice¹⁴ that can turn people militant.

Afghanistan is facing its most violent period since the overthrow¹⁵ of the Taleban. Thousands have been killed in the last year in fighting between security forces and militants¹⁶.

This weekend, two British soldiers serving with NATO's mission in Afghanistan were killed and several others wounded in a Taleban attack south of Garmsir in the same province. The U.S. military also reports that U.S.-led coalition¹⁷ forces backed by war planes killed more than 30 suspected militants in the Garmsir area.

1 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

6 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 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。

8 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。

9 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 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。

12 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

13 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

14 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

15 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

16 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。

17 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。