2007年VOA标准英语-Tuareg Unrest Escalates in Mali

By Selah Hennessy
Dakar
17 September 2007

Military leaders in Mali say the national army is ready to retaliate¹ after Tuareg rebels carried out a deadly ambush² on Sunday. Government officials say the rebels are fighting to take control of the region's illegal and lucrative³ drug trade. But some analysts⁵ say the conflict is political and say the government has failed to fulfill⁶ promises made in a peace deal last year. Selah Hennessy reports from the VOA West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Colonel Abdoulaye Coulibaly, a spokesman for Mali's national army, says seven Tuareg fighters and one army soldier were killed in Sunday's ambush. He says it is the army's job to protect the civilian⁷ population, and the troops are in position to retaliate against any more attacks by Tuareg fighters.

Malian officials say Tuareg rebels, lead by renegade leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, ambushed⁸ an army convoy⁹ on its way to reinforce a garrison¹⁰ in the northeast town Tin-Zaouatene.

Bahanga has not claimed responsibility for the ambush.

Amadou Maiga, a journalist based in Mali's capital, Bamako, says Bahanga, who refused to sign the peace deal with the government last July, is fighting without the support of other Tuaregs.

"He is the only one who started this fighting," he said. "This is not rebels, this is terrorists. He is a terrorist now."

He says Bahanga and his men are fighting to take control of the region only for their own financial gain.

"They do not want to be under the public laws," he said. "They want to stay free in this place to do their smuggling¹¹, that is all."

But Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies analyst⁴ David Zounmnou says Sunday's ambush was politically motivated.

He says Tuaregs are taking up arms because the government has failed to fulfil its promises, including improved development in northern parts of the country and the fair management of natural resources.

"The truce¹² has been broken certainly because the government has not respected the terms of the agreement," he said.

He adds that the American presence in Mali is serving to aggravate¹³ the situation.

Mali receives military and financial support from the multi-million-dollar U.S. Trans-Saharan Counter Terrorism Initiative. Both governments say militant¹⁴ religious extremists are being trained for combat in the desert.

"The involvement of America may externalise what could be perceived as an internal conflict, [a] minor¹⁵ conflict [and result in it] actually escalating¹⁶ and creating havoc¹⁷ within the region," Zounmnou said.

nomads18 near an army base in the Sahara desert north of Agadez, Niger (file photo)" hspace="2" src="http://www.wwenglish.com/up06/2007/09/20608/23.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

A group of Tuareg nomads near an army base in the Sahara desert north of Agadez, Niger (file photo)

He says it is important Mali's government deals with the situation through political change, rather than looking to the United States for military support.

"Hiding behind the shade of America to come to terms with a rebellion in the region will not bring sustainable results," he added.

Tuareg fighters in Mali and neighboring Algeria and Niger have been carrying out rebellions since the 1990s, calling for economic aid for the deeply poor Sahel region.

1 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

2 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

3 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

11 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

12 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

13 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。

14 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。

15 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

16 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

17 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

18 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》