Trump Plans to Sell Attack Planes to Nigeria to Fight Boko Haram

The Trump administration has agreed to sell Nigeria up to twelve attack airplanes for its campaign against Boko Haram Islamic extremists.
川普政府同意向尼日利亚出售多达12架战机用于对付博科圣地极端主义分子。
The sale will continue despite concerns over abuses committed by Nigeria's security forces, according to U.S. officials.
美国官员表示，尽管担心尼日利亚安全部队犯下的恶性，但这笔交易仍将继续下去。

The U.S. Congress is expected to be officially informed within weeks.
预计美国国会将在几周内得到正式通知。

A long history
悠久历史

The sale of the aircraft to Nigeria has a long history. The country has been trying to buy them since 2015.
向尼日利亚出售战机有着悠久的历史。自2015年以来该国一直试图购买战机。

However, the Nigerian air force has been accused of bombing civilian targets at least three times in recent years.
然而近年来尼日利亚空军至少三次被指控轰炸民用目标。

In one incident on January 17 this year, a fighter jet repeatedly bombed a camp at Rann, near the border with Cameroon. Civilians fleeing from Boko Haram were living there.
在今年1月17日发生的一起事故中，一架战机多次轰炸了靠近喀麦隆边界的兰恩营地。躲避博科圣地组织的平民生活在那里。

Between 100 and 236 civilians and aid workers were killed, according to officials' and community leaders' counts.
根据官员和社区领导人的统计，有100到236名平民和援助人员遇难。

The bombing at Rann occurred on the same day the Obama administration planned to notify Congress of the aircraft sale to Nigeria. However, due to the incident, the sale was immediately put on hold.
这次轰炸兰恩营地发生在奥巴马政府计划通知国会向尼日利亚出售战机的同一天。但是由于这起事故，这笔交易立马被搁置。

In previous years, both the U.S. State Department and human rights groups have warned against the actions of the Nigerian military.
前几年，美国国务院和人权组织都对尼日利亚军方的行动提出了告诫。

The State Department said in 2016 that the Nigerian government has taken few steps to investigate or charge soldiers who commit violations.
美国国务院在2016年表示，尼日利亚政府几乎没有采取步骤调查或是指控触犯罪行的士兵。

And in 2015 Amnesty International accused Nigeria's military of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The group accused Nigeria of the unauthorized killings of an estimated 8,000 Boko Haram suspects.
而在2015年，大赦国际指责尼日利亚军队犯下了战争罪和危害人类罪。该组织指责尼日利亚未经批准杀害了约8千名博科圣地组织嫌犯。

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari promised to investigate the suspected abuses after he won office in 2015.
尼日利亚总统布哈里在2015年当选后承诺调查这些涉嫌违规的行为。

However, no soldier has yet been charged.
然而没有士兵被起诉。

Nigeria's military has denied the allegations.
尼日利亚军方否认了这些指控。

Politically strategic
政治战略

Despite concerns about human rights abuses in the country, selling the aircraft to Nigeria helps the U.S. achieve some of its goals.
尽管担心该国侵犯人权，但是向尼日利亚出售战机有助于美国实现它的一些目标。

The sale would improve the U.S. relationship with Nigeria, which is Africa's largest economy.
这笔交易将会改善美国同非洲最大经济体尼日利亚的关系。

The country is also in a strategic geographic position. The north of Nigeria sits on the edge of the Sahel, an area that bridges North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahel has a desert-like climate and is not well governed. Experts warn that Islamic extremists like Boko Haram may expand their influence here.
该国也处于战略地理位置。尼日利亚位于非洲萨赫勒地区边缘，该地区连接了北非和撒哈拉以南非洲地区。萨赫勒地区拥有类沙漠气候并且统治不力。专家警告说，像博科圣地组织这类伊斯兰极端主义分子可能会在这里扩大他们的影响力。

J. Peter Pham is vice president of the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC and the head of its Africa Center. Pham says that no country in Africa is more important for American interests than Nigeria.
J·彼得·范( J. Peter Pham)是位于华盛顿特区的大西洋理事会的副主席，也是该理事会非洲中心的负责人。范表示，对美国利益来说，非洲没有哪个国家比尼日利亚更加重要。

In Trump's interests, too
同样符合川普利益

The aircraft deal also supports Trump's political goals. The U.S. president has said he wants to support nations fighting Islamic extremism.
这起战机交易也支持了川普的政治目标。川普曾表示要支持打击伊斯兰极端主义的国家。

Trump also wants to increase U.S. manufacturing and create well-paid jobs for Americans. The aircraft he plans to sell Nigeria is made in Jacksonville, Florida.
川普还希望提升美国的制造业，并为美国人创造高收入就业机会。他计划卖给尼日利亚的战机是在佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔市制造的。

After Congress is officially informed of the sale, lawmakers have 30 days to reject the deal.
在国会得到正式通知之后，议员们有30天时间来否决这笔交易。

However, a rejection is not likely. Many U.S. lawmakers support the sale, even if they are uncomfortable with the actions of the Nigerian military.
然而这笔交易不太可能被否决。许多美国议员支持这笔交易，即便他们对尼日利亚军方的行动不满。

Senator Ben Cardin said this week that he is not trying to block the deal. But, he added, "There is progress that needs to be made in protecting the civilian population."
参议员本·卡丹（Ben Cardin）本周表示，他并未试图阻止这笔交易。但他补充说，“在保护平民方面需要取得进展。”