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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Syrian Forces Turn to Air Power as Insurgency1 Gains
Nearly a quarter of a million Syrians have fled their homes in recent weeks, as government bombs and mortar2 shells have begun targeting heavily-populated areas.
Last week, amateur video on a social website, which could not be independently verified, purported3 to show the aftermath of attacks on the town of Deraa. This week, government raids struck Syria's largest city, Aleppo.
Burying the victims is challenging authorities, as estimates of the death toll4 top 4,000 for August, the worst month since an opposition5 uprising began in March of last year.
As fighting rages, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly civilians7 are increasingly the victims, as the conflict takes what he called "a particularly brutal8 turn."
"Syrian government forces continue indiscriminate shelling of densely9 populate areas with heavy weapons, tanks and air assets," said Ban. "Opposition groups have stepped up military activity. Civilians bear the brunt of the violence."
Many experts see the increase in civilian6 casualties as a sign that the government of President Bashar al-Assad is growing desperate.
The director of Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, David Schenker, says the bombing campaign is a last-ditch attempt to undermine morale10 and end the revolt.
"It's a scorched11 earth policy," said Schenker. "Bashar Assad, the regime, understands that it cannot negotiate its way out of the problem."
Schenker says the tactical switch to targeting civilian areas will complicate12 efforts to rebuild Syria's religiously-diverse society.
"This is going to be a shattered society," said Schenker. "It's a society that had a history of religious coexistence, 74% Sunni population getting along with the Druze, the Christians13, the Alawites. That's going to be really hard to put this ethnic14 mosaic15 back together.
Syria's top government spokesman maintained a hard line this week. Spokesman Oman al-Zoubi told a news conference the armed opposition is "unfit for negotiations16." He described them as "foreign agents."
Al-Zoubi rejected suggestions that the government's bombing campaign is forcing civilians to flee, and said they are welcome back anytime.
"The Syrian government did not and will never kick anyone out," said Al-Zoubi. "The government will never accept that anyone has to live outside the country."
The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited Damascus this week to secure permission to monitor the conflict. President Assad was reported to have told him the ICRC could operate in Syria as long as it remained neutral.
1 insurgency | |
n.起义;暴动;叛变 | |
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2 mortar | |
n.灰浆,灰泥;迫击炮;v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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3 purported | |
adj.传说的,谣传的v.声称是…,(装得)像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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4 toll | |
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟) | |
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5 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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6 civilian | |
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的 | |
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7 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
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8 brutal | |
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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9 densely | |
ad.密集地;浓厚地 | |
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10 morale | |
n.道德准则,士气,斗志 | |
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11 scorched | |
烧焦,烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(植物)枯萎,把…晒枯; 高速行驶; 枯焦 | |
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12 complicate | |
vt.使复杂化,使混乱,使难懂 | |
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13 Christians | |
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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14 ethnic | |
adj.人种的,种族的,异教徒的 | |
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15 mosaic | |
n./adj.镶嵌细工的,镶嵌工艺品的,嵌花式的 | |
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16 negotiations | |
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过 | |
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