VOA标准英语2011--Niger Seeks Help in Policing Border with

Niger Seeks Help in Policing Border with Libya

Niger says it needs help policing more than six million square meters of desert along its border with Libya. Some members of the former government in Tripoli have fled south to Niger, including one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons.
Justice Minister Marou Amadou says it is an explosive situation as members of the ousted¹ Gadhafi government flee fighters backing Libya's interim² ruling council.
Amadou says Niger needs aerial surveillance, good intelligence and information. All of that costs a lot of money for a poor and indebted country such as Niger, which perennially³ suffers from food crises.
Under house arrest
Gadhafi's former security chief and one of his sons, along with at least two former generals, have all crossed the border into Niger on what the government calls humanitarian⁴ grounds.
Gadhafi's son Saadi is now under a kind of house arrest in the capital, Niamey.
Too costly⁵
Justice Minister Amadou says the expense of increased patrols along the northern border is holding back the development agenda of Niger's new civilian⁶ government. And at the same time, the flow of arms across the Sahel could further destabilize a region where al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists are already active.
Amadou says even before the fighting in Libya, the border situation was difficult for Niger. It is well known that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is operating across the Sahel from Mauritania to Algeria, Niger and Mali. Amadou says security is further complicated by drug trafficking, banditry, and kidnapping in an area that the government of Niger cannot control.

1 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

2 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。

3 perennially   

adv.经常出现地；长期地；持久地；永久地

参考例句：

• He perennially does business abroad. 他常年在国外做生意。 来自辞典例句
• We want to know what is perennially new about the world. 我们想知道世上什么东西永远是新的。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。