聯合國車隊敘利亞遭襲 救援暫停

The UN has suspended aid convoys into Syria a day after an air strike hit relief trucks, killing 20 people and leaving diplomats scrambling to maintain a US-Russian peace plan for the country.

聯合國已暫停向敘利亞派遣救援物資車隊，就在前一天，運輸物資的車隊遭到空襲，導致20人遇難，外交官們忙於保住美俄達成的敘利亞和平計劃。

John Kerry, US secretary of state, said yesterday that “the ceasefire is not dead” and Russian officials also insisted that the plan to halt fighting in Syria had not yet been abandoned.

美國國務卿約翰•克里(John Kerry)昨日表示，“停火沒有死”，俄羅斯官員們也堅稱，停止敘利亞戰火的計劃沒有被放棄。

However, with events on the ground continuing to undermine the US-Russian plan, ministers from other governments said it would be very hard to revive the agreement.

然而，隨着第一線的事態繼續破壞美俄計劃，其他國家政府的部長級官員們表示，很難挽救停火協議。

“We have to be honest, the US-Russian negotiation has reached its limits,” said Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French foreign minister. German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that diplomats were trying to see if there was a way to restart negotiations or if the situation had become “hopeless”.

“我們不得不誠實，美俄談判已經達到極限，”法國外長讓-馬克•埃羅(Jean-Marc Ayrault)表示。德國外長弗蘭克-瓦爾特•施泰因邁爾(Frank-Walter Steinmeier)表示，外交官們正試圖看看有沒有一條重啓談判的途徑，抑或形勢已經變得“沒有希望”。

The ministers were speaking after a meeting in New York of the governments involved in the Syrian conflict, which took place on the margins of the UN General Assembly and which Mr Ayrault said had been “dramatic”.

這些部長們是在介入敘利亞衝突的各國政府在紐約開會後發表講話的。在聯合國大會(UN General Assembly)間隙舉行的此次會議，被埃羅形容爲富於“戲劇性”。

The US state department said the meeting agreed “there was still an imperative to pursue a nationwide cessation of hostilities” and that ministers would meet again later this week.

美國國務院表示，與會各方同意“仍有必要爭取在全國範圍停止敵對行動”，而部長們將在本週晚些時候再次開會。

The flurry of diplomatic activity in New York came as furious UN officials warned that Monday night’s air strike near Aleppo, in which 18 of 31 trucks in the aid convoy were destroyed, could be a war crime.

繁忙的外交活動在紐約展開之際，憤怒的聯合國官員警告說，週一晚在阿勒頗(Aleppo)附近進行的空襲可能構成戰爭罪，此次空襲摧毀了救援物資車隊31輛卡車中的18輛。

“If this callous attack is found to be a deliberate targeting of humanitarians, it would amount to a war crime,” said Stephen O’Brien, UN aid chief. Two other aid agencies also suspended operations.

“如果此次殘酷無情的攻擊被發現蓄意針對人道主義行動，那將構成一種戰爭罪行，”聯合國救援負責人斯蒂芬•奧布萊恩(Stephen O’Brien)表示。另外兩個援助機構也暫停了救援行動。

US officials and opposition activists blamed the attack on warplanes belonging to either Syria or Russia, which has intervened militarily on President Bashar al-Assad’s behalf.

美國官員和反對派活動人士將此次空襲歸咎於敘利亞或俄羅斯的戰機，俄羅斯發起了支持敘利亞總統巴沙爾•阿薩德(Bashar al-Assad)的軍事幹預。

But Moscow and the Syrian government denied responsibility and hinted that local rebels were to blame.

但莫斯科和敘利亞政府都拒絕承擔責任，並暗示當地反政府軍需要承擔罪責。

Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian defence ministry, said video of the convoy showed no evidence of missile strikes, suggesting it could have been a fire, according to a statement reported on Tass, the Russian state news agency.

據俄羅斯官方通訊社塔斯社(Tass)報道，俄羅斯國防部發言人伊戈爾•柯納申科夫(Igor Konashenkov)表示，從車隊遇襲的視頻看，沒有導彈襲擊的證據，似乎表明可能是一場火災。

He said Russia and the Assad regime stopped following the convoy after it left regime territory. “All information about the convoy’s whereabouts was known only to the militants who control these areas.”

他表示，在車隊離開敘利亞政府控制的地盤後，俄羅斯和敘利亞就不再追蹤車隊的去向。“有關車隊行蹤的所有信息，只有控制着這些地區的武裝分子才知道。”