VOA慢速英语:US Seeks to Ease Tensions Between North, South in Sudan

South Sudan is preparing to declare its independence on July ninth. But recent events have raised concerns about the peace process that ended years of civil war with Sudan’s north.
南苏丹准备在7月9日宣布独立。但是最近的事件引起了对结束多年的跟北苏丹内战的和平进程的担忧。

Last month northern forces seized most of Abyei, an area rich in oil fields in the central part of Sudan. The south voted for separation in January. People in Abyei were supposed to decide that same day whether to join the north or the south. But that never happened because of a disagreement over who could vote.
上个月，北部军队夺取了阿卜耶伊大部分地区，这是苏丹中部富含油田的地区。南部一月份投票赞成独立。同一天阿卜耶伊的居民也应该决定加入北部或南部了。但是那种情况不会发生，因为关于谁可以投票的意见不一。

The United Nations says tens of thousands of people fled after northern troops and allied militia occupied the area on May twenty-first. They forced out troops from south Sudan. Based on early reports, Abyei's former chief administrator said about one hundred civilians were killed. There was no independent confirmation of that number.
联合国称，5月21日北方军队和结盟的民兵占领这个地区后，成千上万平民逃离了。他们将南苏丹的军队驱逐出该地区。根据早期报道，阿卜耶伊前任行政长官称，大约100名平民被杀。但没有独立的信息证实这个数字。

The north has rejected calls from the United States, the United Nations and south Sudan to remove its troops from Abyei. The area was a battleground during the long civil war. That war ended with the two thousand five Comprehensive Peace Accord, or CPA, which led to the vote in the south.
北部已经拒绝美国、联合国和南苏丹要它从阿卜耶伊撤军的要求。这个地区是长期内战的战场。战争以2005年的全面和平协议（CPA）宣告结束，促使南部进行投票。

On Wednesday, the government in Khartoum offered proposals for settling the dispute.  The north called for an African force to replace international peacekeeping troops in Sudan. It also suggested a new joint administration for Abyei. Southern officials reportedly rejected the proposals.
周三，喀土穆政府提议解决纷争。北部要求驻扎在苏丹的国际维和部队由非洲军队代替。它还要求阿卜耶伊建立新的联合政府。据报道，南部官员拒绝这些提议。

Two American officials met with Sudanese officials in Khartoum on Wednesday. President Obama sent his top anti-terrorism advisor, John Brennan, and Sudan Special Envoy Princeton Lyman.
周三，美国两名官员在喀土穆与苏丹官员进行会晤。总统奥巴马派出他的顶级反恐顾问约翰．布伦南，而苏丹则派出特使Princeton Lyman。

The Obama administration said Mr. Brennan discussed the importance of cooperation against al-Qaida and its allies. He expressed President Obama's deep concern over the continued presence of Sudanese forces in Abyei.
奥巴马政府称，布伦南讨论合作对抗基地组织与其联盟的重要性。他传达了奥巴马对于苏丹部队继续停留在阿卜耶伊的深切关注。

In Washington, America's top diplomat for Africa, Johnnie Carson, called for talks between Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and southern leader Salva Kiir.
美国负责非洲事务外交官约翰尼．卡尔森在华盛顿呼吁苏丹总统巴希尔和南部领导人萨尔瓦．基尔进行会谈。

JOHNNIE CARSON: "We are deeply concerned about the situation in Abyei, and in southern Sudan. We want to do as much as we possibly can between now and July ninth to assure that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is fully complied with.”
翰尼．卡尔森：“我们密切关注阿卜耶伊和南苏丹的情况。我们希望从现在起到7月9日，尽我们所能确保全面和平协议得到充分地遵守。”

Mr. Carson said the seizure of Abyei could threaten what he called a road map for normal relations between the United States and Sudan. It could also threaten the possible removal of Sudan from the American list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
卡尔森称，夺取阿卜耶伊会威胁他所谓的美国和苏丹正常关系的路线图。而苏丹原本从美国的支持恐怖主义的国家名单上删除的可能也会受到威胁。

On Tuesday, Sudan’s United Nations ambassador said his government sees no need for UN peacekeepers to stay in Sudan after July ninth. This was Ambassador Daffa-Alla Ali Osman speaking to the Security Council through an interpreter.
周二，苏丹的联合国大使称，苏丹政府在7月9日后不再需要联合国维和部队驻扎在苏丹了。这是大使Daffa-Alla Ali Osman通过口译者传达给安理会。

DAFFA-ALLA ALI OSMAN (INTERPRETER): “Any attempts to justify the continuation of the mission, such as the issue of pending issues, would not be right.”
Daffa-Alla Ali Osman（口译者）：“任何试图证明继续维和部队的使命合法的努力，如未解决的问题，都是不正确的。”

Those issues also include where to draw the more than two-thousand-kilometer-long border and how to share oil money. Another issue between the north and the south is Sudan’s thirty-eight billion dollar debt.
这些问题也包括从哪里划定超过2000公里长的边界线，和如何分配石油的钱。南北纷争的另一个问题是南苏丹背负着380亿美元的债务。