VOA标准英语10月-Rebels Advance in Eastern Congo

Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continued on offensive near the town of Goma, as government troops retreated from their positions. Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi that the U.N. refugee agency says 30,000 civilians¹ displaced by the fighting are heading for Goma.

The National Congress for People's Defense², a rebel group led by former Congolese General Laurent Nkunda, is continuing an offensive it began Sunday.
　

Two boys, fleeing from the town of Kibumba, walk as a Congolese army tank moves on the road, about 35 kilometers north of Goma, 27 Oct 2008

Government forces retreated as rebels led attacks near the towns of Kibumba and Rutshuru, north of Goma near the border with Uganda.

The U.N. refugee agency says 30,000 civilians have been displaced by the fighting and are moving toward Goma near the border with Rwanda.

Nkunda says his forces are protecting the minority Tutsi ethnic³ group in eastern Congo, and he has threatened to capture Goma. His troops have been reported as close as seven kilometers from the city.

Congolese security researcher Charles Nasibu, who spoke⁴ to VOA from Norway, says Nkunda's ultimate objective is difficult to determine.

"He said that he would like to organize a national movement in order to take power," he said. "But that sounds very, not impossible, but very difficult. I do not see how he can achieve that. But if he succeeds to take Goma, that will change the situation at the general level. He will have control of the Goma airport and he will have control of the border between Rwanda and DRC."

Helicopters from the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known by its French acronym⁵ MONUC, fired on rebels Monday near Kibumba. Nkunda's forces fired rockets at a U.N. convoy⁶ on Sunday, hitting two vehicles.

Officials with the U.N. mission say its mandate⁷, which focuses on the protection of civilians, includes defending urban areas. Peacekeepers repelled⁸ an advance on Goma by Nkunda's forces last December.

But many civilians are upset with the peacekeepers failure to halt the fighting. As many as five people were killed Monday as demonstrators threw stones at the U.N. offices in Goma and peacekeepers fired into the air to disperse⁹ the crowd. U.N. staff members have been told to stay inside.

Adding to the mission's troubles, the commander of the 17,000-member U.N. force resigned Monday, after less than three weeks in the country. Congolese President Laurent Kabila also named a new defense minister on Sunday.

The Congolese government says Nkunda's forces are backed by Rwanda. Congo says its forces recovered Rwandan military equipment in fighting earlier this month.

Rwanda says Congolese troops are cooperating with the FDLR, a militia¹⁰ operating in eastern Congo that is composed of Rwandan Hutus, many of them involved in carrying out the 1994 genocide.

Nkunda signed a peace agreement with Congo's government in January, but fighting broke out again in August. Up to 250,000 civilians have been displaced since then. The United Nations estimates a total of one million people are displaced in eastern Congo.

According to Nasibu, the widespread availability of weapons in the region has undermined efforts to find a peaceful solution.

"The last agreement did not address correctly the small arms issue," he said. "I was very, very skeptical¹¹ when I read the peace agreement. Because it was very, very clear that nothing can be done there in terms of peace without addressing the small arms issue."

Nearly 5.5 million people are estimated to have been killed in Congo since civil war broke out in 1998.

1 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。

2 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。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

6 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。

7 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

8 repelled   

v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• They repelled the enemy. 他们击退了敌军。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm. 而丁梅斯代尔牧师却哆里哆嗦地断然推开了那老人的胳臂。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

9 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

10 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

11 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。