VOA标准英语2010年-Scores Killed in South Sudan Raid

A group of Nuer tribesmen in South Sudan's Warrap state reportedly slaughtered¹ 139 Dinka and stole thousands of heads of cattle. An unknown number of Nuer raiders were also killed in the attack.

The deadly attack took place earlier this week, but reports of the deaths took a few days to make its way out of the remote village. A U.N. military team sent to the area was expected to take a couple days to arrive. South Sudan only has about 50 kilometers of paved roads.

Cattle are the cultural currency for many of the region's tribes, necessary not just as food but for dowry payments and social status. Cattle rustling² is traditionally common among the southern communities, but the past year brought levels of violence not normally seen. 

David Gressly is the top U.N. official in the South. In a recent interview in the capital Juba, he told VOA that the bloodshed can mostly be attributed to local disputes.

"What's key here is that the grievances³ that these communities have - these are very much broken down on tribal⁴ or clan⁵ lines - these grievances need to be addressed and resolved," Gressly said. "And they relate to access to water, access to pasturelands. Traditionally, there are negotiations⁶ which take place; these systems have broken down in a few places."

Senior Southern officials routinely accuse the Khartoum regime of deliberately⁷ fueling the inter-tribal strife⁸ in their territory through the support of local militias⁹, a main tactic¹⁰ of the North during the long civil war. The ruling northern NCP party flatly denies such charges, and critics of the former Southern rebels say that their governing party has failed to provide the necessary security and leadership to stem the instability.

An investigative report two weeks ago from the think-tank International Crisis Group concluded that the truth likely falls "somewhere in between." The group was investigating the same type of violence in the South's Jonglei state, where the worse of the clashes have been seen.

Although he says the possibility of manipulation from outside forces is there, Gressly said that no hard evidence has been presented yet to back up those claims.

"So far we've not seen or been presented anything that allows us to give any kind of definitive¹¹ statement on that," he said. "We have to be guided by the two parties in terms of where they see these allegations so that they can be properly investigated. We do that jointly¹², and we've done that many many times. But there has been nothing credible¹³ put on the table for us to work with."

The Dinka and the Nuer are the two biggest tribes in the South, the Dinka constituting about 40 percent of its population and the Nuer around 20 percent.

In 1991, following a split in the southern rebel SPLA leadership, Nuer militias killed some 80,000 civilians¹⁴ - mostly Dinka - around the city of Bor in what became known as the "Bor Massacre¹⁵."

On Thursday, a group of ten prominent aid groups warned that the situation in south Sudan was sliding back to renewed conflict and called for international intervention¹⁶. This weekend a new coalition¹⁷ campaign calling itself "Sudan365" is organizing peace rallies in 15 cities around the world to urge more international attention be given to bolstering¹⁸ the tenuous¹⁹ peace agreement in Sudan.
 

1 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

3 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

5 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

8 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

9 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

10 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

11 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

12 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

13 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

14 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。

15 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

16 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。

17 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。

18 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

19 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。