VOA标准英语10月-East Congo Rebels Withdraw from Peace Accord

A rebel leader in Eastern Congo says he is withdrawing from January's peace agreement and has issued a call for Congolese to rise up and liberate¹ the country. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our West Africa Bureau in Dakar.
　

Renegade ex-general Laurent Nkunda, Mar2 2007

Rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda issued a letter Friday, saying he was withdrawing from a January peace agreement with the Congolese government.

In an interview on British and French radio Nkunda said he was expanding his struggle to free the entire nation.

He says he is appealing to all Congolese to rise up and liberate themselves because the current government is allowing the occupation of the country by foreign forces.

However, he indicated that he might refrain from returning to war, saying liberation did not necessarily have to come through armed conflict.

Nkunda issued a signed letter, a copy of which was obtained by VOA, accusing the Congolese government of negotiating in bad faith. He also accused the Congolese army of collaborating³ with Rwandan militias⁴ that have been terrorizing people in parts of eastern Congo.

And Nkunda accused the UN mission in Congo of turning a blind eye to the violence and of abandoning its neutrality.

The Congolese government dismissed the charges.

The announcement follows renewed clashes between the Congolese armed forces and Nkunda's National Congress for the Defense⁵ of the People.

Nkunda's group says it is defending ethnic-Tutsi Congolese, called Banyamulenge, who immigrated⁶ from Rwanda decades ago. It says they are being targeted by remnants of Hutu militias from Rwanda that fled into eastern Congo following the Rwandan genocide 14 years ago.

More then 80 humanitarian⁷ agencies working in the Congo last week warned that a month of violence in the region had displaced more than 100,000 people and caused a drastic deterioration⁸ of the humanitarian situation there.

An estimated three million Congolese died during two civil wars in the mid-1990s. A peace agreement several years ago ended most of the violence and brought national elections two years ago. But it failed to end hostilities⁹ in parts of eastern Congo.

1 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

2 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

3 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

4 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

9 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。