VOA标准英语2009年-Guinea's Military Leader Travels to Mo

Communications Minister Idrissa Cherif says Captain Moussa Dadis Camara has gone to Morocco for a 'check-up' after being shot late Thursday by soldiers at a military camp in downtown Conakry.

Scott Stearns | Dakar 04 December 2009

Guinea's military ruler Captain Moussa Dadis Camara (Oct 2009 file photo)

"The future of the country is unclear and the security situation remains¹ very unstable," World Food Program's West Africa director, Thomas Yanga said.

Guinea's military ruler is in Morocco after being shot by troops loyal to his aide-de-camp.  Aid groups are drafting contingency² plans for as many as half-a-million civilians³ who could be displaced if Guinea's political instability worsens.

Communications Minister Idrissa Cherif says Captain Moussa Dadis Camara has gone to Morocco for a "check-up" after being shot late Thursday by soldiers at a military camp in downtown Conakry.

It is the first time the 45-year-old ruler has left Guinea since taking power in a coup⁴ last December. In his absence, Cherif says power remains in the hands of the ruling military council, which met in emergency session Friday.

A Moroccan physician familiar with the situation says Captain Camara is being treated for "several light wounds" at Rabat's Mohammed V Military Hospital and his condition is "not serious."

Morocco's Foreign Ministry⁵ says the kingdom received Captain Camara on "strictly⁶ humanitarian⁷ considerations." He arrived on a Burkinabe plane with a Senegalese doctor for the treatment of what a Moroccan government statement says are injuries related to gun shot wounds received Thursday.

Captain Camara was shot by soldiers loyal to aide-de-camp Lieutenant⁸ Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite, who is known as Toumba. Toumba and his men escaped the attack. And despite a government statement that the former aide was later arrested, Toumba's whereabouts are unknown.

Businesses in Conakry opened as usual Friday, and the military government says it has stepped-up security in the capital.

Toumba is widely thought to have led members of the red beret presidential guard who shot and raped⁹ opposition¹⁰ demonstrators two months ago. Human rights groups say at least 157 people were killed protesting Captain Camara's expected presidential candidacy. The military says 57 people died, most in the crush of people fleeing Conakry's main sports stadium.

A United Nations Commission is in Conakry to find out what happened September 28.

Local human rights officials say Thursday's trouble began when Captain Camara ordered the arrest of ten members of the presidential guard thought to have been involved in the killing¹¹. When Toumba's men tried to free at least one of those suspects, Captain Camara went to Toumba's base at Camp Koundara to find out what was happening. That is when he was shot.

Divisions within Guinea's military have grown since the September violence, which Captain Camara is blaming on both his political opponents and what he calls "uncontrollable elements of the military."

The violence brought sanctions from both the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States. ECOWAS asked Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore to mediate¹² the crisis. But his offer of an interim¹³ government has been rejected by a coalition¹⁴ of political parties, civil society groups, and trade unions who refuse to take part in any transitional authority that includes members of the military.

Regional humanitarian officials are preparing a contingency plan to feed civilians that may be displaced if the crisis deteriorates¹⁵ further.

"The future of the country is unclear and the security situation remains very unstable," said Thomas Yanga, who directs operations in West Africa for the UN's World Food Program.  "A deterioration¹⁶ of the situation leading to population displacement¹⁷ could potentially affect the  sub-region."

Since the violence two months ago, the price of rice in Conakry is up 40 percent and sugar is up more than 25 percent. Fatma Samoura directs WFP operations in Guinea.

Samoura says the contingency plan covers six neighboring countries plus Guinea in case the political crisis deteriorates to a level that can not be managed by the military government. She says that during such a crisis, the plan would distribute food to as many as 300,000 refugees and 200,000 internally displaced Guineans.

The contingency plan includes Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast which are all still struggling to recover from their own civil wars.

 

1 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。

2 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

3 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。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

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 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

9 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

13 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 deteriorates   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• After a few years' planting, the quality of the potato crop deteriorates. 土豆种了几年之后就会退化。
• Virus activity deteriorates in plasma stored at room temperature. 在室温下储藏的血浆中病毒活动逐渐衰退。

16 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。

17 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。