VOA常速英语:严惩叙利亚化学武器的使用！

In response to the chemical weapons attack April 4th that killed approximately 100 civilians in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, has announced sanctions against 271 employees of the Syrian government agency responsible for developing such weapons and the means to deliver them.
为回应4月4日的化学武器袭击（此次袭击在叙利亚城镇Khan Sheikhoun杀死了近100名平民），美国财政部外国资产控制办公室（OFAC）宣布对叙利亚政府机构负责研发、投放此等武器的271名工作人员实施制裁。

The 271 designated individuals from Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center have expertise in chemistry or have worked in support of the Center’s chemical weapons program since at least 2012. As a result of their designation, any assets these people hold in the United States are frozen, and U.S. persons and businesses are generally prohibited from conducting business with them.
来自叙利亚科学研究中心的这271人都具有化学方面的专业知识、或至少从2012年以来一直支持该研究中心的化学武器项目。由于这一指名的结果，这些人在美国拥有的所有财产都被冻结，而美国个人和企业一般也被禁止和他们有业务往来。

The U.S. move comes just weeks after the regime of Bashar al-Assad dropped chemical weapons from the sky on Khan Sheikhoun, resulting in an agonizing death for the villagers below, and it follows the United States’ targeted military response two days later of launching 59 missiles onto the airfield from which Assad’s chemical weapons attack originated.
就在美国此举之前几周，巴沙尔·阿萨德政权从Khan Sheikhoun城镇上空投下了化学武器，导致目标地区的村民痛苦地死亡，而在此次暴行两天之后，美国进行了一场有针对性的军事回击，向发起化学武器袭击机场的停机坪发射了59枚导弹。

At a press briefing at the White House, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the action against the staff of Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center is one of the largest ever executed by OFAC:
在白宫的一场新闻发布会上，美国财政部部长史蒂文·纽切纳表示，此次针对叙利亚科学研究中心工作人员的行动是OFAC有史以来最大的行动之一。

“In a single action, we are more than doubling the number of individuals and entities sanctioned since the start of the Syrian conflict pursuant to Syria-related executive orders. The sweeping sanctions are intended to hold the Assad regime and those who support it directly or indirectly accountable for their blatant violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention and U.N. Security Council Resolution 2118.”
“在此次行动中，我们制裁的个人和实体的数量比自从叙利亚冲突以来和叙利亚有关的行政命令中制裁数量的2倍还多。这一全面制裁的目的是向阿萨德政权、以及那些直接或间接支持该政权的人问责，他们公然违反了《化学武器公约》和联合国安理会第2118号决议。”

The United States is “sending a strong message…that we will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons by any actor, and we intend to hold the Assad regime accountable for its unacceptable behavior,” Mr. Mnuchin said. “The Treasury Department, together with the Department of State and our international partners, will continue to relentlessly pursue and shut down the financial networks of any individuals involved with Syria’s production and use of chemical weapons.”
美国正“发出一个强烈的讯息，我们将不会容许任何人使用化学武器，而我们将因这一令人不可接受的行为向阿萨德政权问责，” 纽切纳说道。“财政部，连同国务院以及我们的国际合作伙伴，将继续不懈追寻并封锁与叙利亚化学武器的生产和使用有关联的任何个人的金融网络。”