2007年VOA标准英语-Sudan Advises Aid Agencies to Accept Military E

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
25 September 2007

With the security situation growing more precarious¹ in Darfur, Sudan's government is warning U.N. agencies and other aid groups that they should accept offers of military escorts, when they travel through the region.  As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, Khartoum's offer is unlikely to get any takers.

The government offer came a day after the aid group Oxfam warned it may be forced to withdraw from Darfur, if security gets any worse.  Oxfam says it normally would not operate under the security conditions it now faces in Darfur.

It is providing water, public health programs and other services to hundreds of thousands of refugees in Sudan and neighboring Chad.  Country Director Caroline Nursey told the Reuters news agency that Oxfam has not withdrawn² because so many people depend on it.

Recent days have seen a spike³ in attacks in Darfur.  Just two weeks ago, gunmen seized an Oxfam vehicle in South Darfur.

For that reason, government spokesman Ali Sadiq Ali says aid agencies should accept the government's offer to escort them around Darfur's dangerous roads.

"In so many cases, we offered to protect the convoys⁴ of the U.N. agencies and international agencies operating in Darfur and this offer has been turned down so many times, because they see that if they accept it this will affect their neutrality," Ali said. "So it was the NGOs and the U.N. agencies who refused the offer.   But, whenever we are asked to render this service we are ready."

Since the start of the Darfur conflict in 2003, aid groups have steadfastly⁵ refused such offers, because they fear it would tarnish⁶ their ability to operate independently and make them a target for attacks.

The conflict has killed some 200,000 people and displaced more than two million others.  Aid groups and outsiders had hoped the situation would improve, now the U.N. Security Council has approved a new joint⁷ U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur.  But that action has done little to ease tensions. 

Ali says the Khartoum government will do whatever it can to make sure Oxfam does not leave the region.

"We will do our best, our utmost, to prevent Oxfam withdraw from Darfur," Ali said. "And, we always prefer that any organizations who are attacked to indicate who attacked them, because people might think that, if an NGO did not mention where and when and who attacked it, it might be understood that the government is involved in one way or another, which is not true."

According to the United Nations, gunmen have hijacked⁸ some 100 cars, since January, and dozens of staffers have been taken hostage for a short period.

1 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

2 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

3 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

4 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

5 steadfastly   

adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝

参考例句：

• So he sat, with a steadfastly vacant gaze, pausing in his work. 他就像这样坐着，停止了工作，直勾勾地瞪着眼。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Defarge and his wife looked steadfastly at one another. 德伐日和他的妻子彼此凝视了一会儿。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

6 tarnish   

n.晦暗，污点；vt.使失去光泽；玷污

参考例句：

• The affair could tarnish the reputation of the prime minister.这一事件可能有损首相的名誉。
• Stainless steel products won't tarnish.不锈钢产品不会失去光泽。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。