VOA常速英语2008年-EUFOR Resumes Challenging Deployment Along Suda

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
13 February 2008

The European peacekeeping force known as EUFOR has resumed deploying² in the refugee-swamped border region near Sudan. It had stopped for several weeks because of a major rebel incursion in Chad, one of the two countries where deployment³ is taking place. But U.N. officials and security experts are renewing warnings the force faces many challenges to succeed in its planned one-year mission. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our regional bureau in Dakar.

European force commanders say they hope to be fully⁴ operational by the end of March. Their mission is to protect the swelling⁵ number of refugees and displaced people in border camps.

The deployment, the bulk of which will be in Chad, is being made as Chadian rebels remain active and fighting intensifies⁶ in Sudan's Darfur region.

New York-based Human Rights Watch says 12,000 refugees who fled this week from Darfur to Chad have little food and no one to protect them.

A U.N. official has warned the EU force, which will also deploy¹ in volatile⁷ border areas of the Central African Republic, could attract a new wave of Darfurian refugees.

There are hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people in both Chad and the Central African Republic.

At full deployment, the European force will have 3,700 soldiers in those two countries, mainly from France, Ireland, and Poland.

The author of a recent report published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology security studies program, German-national Bjoern Seibert, says it will be difficult for such a small force to be effective.

"It is mainly built around three battalions⁸ and that is a very small force for such a large area of operation especially if you try the provision of a safe and secure environment and that is the key objective of the force right now," said Seibert.

Seibert's report is called "African Adventure? Assessing the European Union's Military Intervention⁹ in Chad and CAR."

He says even though European commanders have said the force will be neutral, he does not believe this is possible.

"It is clear that this force will have an impact on the balance of power on the ground," he said. "The force is not perceived as neutral and the [Chadian] rebels have said that repeatedly."

Chadian rebels have accused France of backing long-time Chadian President Idriss Deby in the recent battle for Chad's capital, N'Djamena, which the rebels lost, after several days of fighting that followed a rapid desert march.

The former colonial power, France, says it gave Chad's army medical, logistical and surveillance support as part of existing military accords, but that it had not engaged in direct combat.

French forces, other than in EUFOR, are based permanently¹⁰ in Chad and will remain in place, which Seibert says is confusing for the peacekeeping mission.

"Especially, the smaller contributing countries are increasingly concerned about the political confusion between the French forces that will be part of EUFOR and the French forces that are part of the French forces stationed in N'Djamena to support President Deby," he said.

Minor¹¹ contributors include Sweden, Austria and Romania.

European powerhouse Germany is not taking part militarily, saying it is incapable¹² of doing so because of other engagements, such as in Afghanistan and Kosovo.

The EU deployment also comes as a large hybrid¹³ U.N.-AU force is trying to deploy in Darfur to increase security there as well. But security analyst¹⁴ Seibert says he would like to see more focus on resolving underlying¹⁵ political problems.

"I think there has to be a political solution to both the conflict in Darfur with its effect on the neighboring countries and also there have to be political solutions for the inter-Chadian conflict," he said. "It remains¹⁶ to be seen whether we can actually engage in finding a political strategy in solving it, that is aided by the deployment of military force. Right now, I do not see this happening."

Rebels in Chad and Sudan both say they are fighting for better governance and more decentralization. Both countries accuse each other of backing the other's rebellion. In the Central African Republic, border regions marred¹⁷ by fighting and displaced people have been in a near state of anarchy¹⁸ for several years.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

6 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

8 battalions   

n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍

参考例句：

• God is always on the side of the strongest battalions. 上帝总是帮助强者。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Two battalions were disposed for an attack on the air base. 配置两个营的兵力进攻空军基地。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

10 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

11 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。

12 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

13 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

14 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。

15 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

18 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。