VOA慢速英语 斯里兰卡对塔米尔猛虎组织发起总攻

　　The government says the military offensive is also a hostage rescue operation. It says the rebels are hiding among civilians. On Wednesday, President Obama deplored the rebels' use of civilians as human shields. But he also called on the Sri Lankan government to act responsibly.

　　There have been reports in recent days that shelling killed hundreds of civilians. On Wednesday, artillery shells hit the only remaining hospital in the area of fighting.

　　The government promised last month to end its use of heavy weapons. It says the rebels are the ones killing innocent people. The rebels blame the government.

　　And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

　　一、全文翻译

　　斯里兰卡军队已对塔米尔猛虎组织发起所谓的“总攻”。军方发言人告诉VOA，军队希望周日之前释放所有被困在叛军区域内的平民。军方称，目前军队正从南北两面向还控制在叛军手中的沿海狭长地带靠拢。

　　周五，联合国人权办公室呼吁对斯里兰卡可能发动战争罪进行调查。人权办公室称，军队和叛军的行为可能符合战争罪和践踏人权罪的法律条件。

　　联合国发言人对报告所称的政府轰炸导致平民丧生表示担忧。他还对报道所说的叛军射杀企图逃离到安全地带的平民表示担忧。

　　本周，联合国秘书长潘基文派遣最高助手向斯里兰卡施压，要求其停止冲突。

　　自一月份冲突激化以来，斯里兰卡北部已有20多万塔米尔平民被迫转移。一些人得以穿越泻湖逃离到政府控制区域。但是据报道，数千名平民已被杀害，成千上万人受伤。

　　国际红十字会称那里的人权状况“难以想象”。红十字会已经不能输入食物，不能从冲突区域转移伤病员。

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