俄羅斯恢復在敘利亞空襲
Russia launched a major new offensive across Syria yesterday as air strikes intensified on the besieged city of Aleppo for the first time in weeks.
俄羅斯昨日在敘利亞展開一輪新的大規模攻勢，幾周來首次加大針對被圍困的阿勒頗的空襲。
Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, said the operation was targeting Isis and Syrian jihadis, as well as their ammunition depots and training camps, in the provinces of Idlib and Homs. He said the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft carrier, was participating in the campaign — its first combat mission.
俄羅斯國防部長謝爾蓋.紹伊古(Sergei Shoigu)表示，此次行動的目標是伊德利卜省和霍姆斯省的“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)和敘利亞聖戰分子以及他們的軍火庫和訓練營。他表示，俄羅斯唯一的航空母艦庫茲涅佐夫海軍上將號(Admiral Kuznetsov)參與了此次行動，這是該航母首次執行作戰任務。
A Russian frigate fired cruise missiles in the offensive, Mr Shoigu added. He did not mention Aleppo, where more than 250,000 people are trapped by a regime siege on rebel-held areas. But opposition activists said strikes began hitting the city early yesterday.
紹伊古表示，一艘俄羅斯護衛艦在這場攻勢中發射了巡航導彈。他沒有提到阿勒頗，該地有超過25萬人被圍困在由反對派佔領的地區。但反對派活動人士表示，該市從昨日凌晨開始遭遇斯空襲。
“There were some 30 air strikes and three people have died so far,” said Hisham Skaff, a spokesman for the Fastaqem Kama Umirt rebel brigade.
敘利亞反政府軍Fastaqem Kama Umirt發言人希沙姆.斯卡夫(Hisham Skaff)表示：“大約有30次空襲，目前有3人死亡。”
The latest offensive began hours after Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, discussed the Syrian conflict with Donald Trump, the US president-elect. Russia’s backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its involvement in the bombardment of Aleppo have strained relations with the west.
在俄羅斯發動最新攻勢幾小時前，俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾.普京(Vladimir Putin)與美國當選總統唐納德.特朗普(Donald Trump)討論了敘利亞衝突。俄羅斯對敘利亞總統巴沙爾.阿薩德(Bashar al-Assad)政權的支持以及參與對阿勒頗的轟炸，使其與西方的關係陷入緊張。
Mr Trump has suggested he is more interested in targeting Isis than removing Mr Assad, which could give Syria and Russia room to attack the rebels.
特朗普表示，相對於迫使阿薩德下臺，他對打擊ISIS更感興趣，這可能給俄羅斯和敘利亞打擊反政府軍提供空間。
The Obama administration has reluctantly backed the Syrian opposition, but it has been criticised for not doing more to end the violence.
奧巴馬政府對敘利亞反對派的支持一直很勉強，但外界批評其沒有采取更多措施來終結暴力活動。
The US and Europe last month accused Russia of being an accomplice to war crimes for bombing civilians and hospitals in Aleppo following the collapse of a brief ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow. Syria and Russia have consistently denied deliberately targeting hospitals.
在美國和俄羅斯撮合的短暫停火協議破裂後，美國和歐洲上月批評俄羅斯是轟炸阿勒頗平民和醫院的戰爭罪的幫兇。敘利亞和俄羅斯一直否認故意把醫院列爲轟炸目標。
Russia eventually paused its bombardment. But the Syrian regime has been warning for days of a new offensive on Aleppo, a critical battleground in the war. Analysts have been concerned that Damascus and Moscow would use the political transition in the US to mount an all-out offensive to defeat the rebels.
俄羅斯最後暫停了轟炸。但敘利亞政權多日來一直警告將對阿勒頗發動新的攻勢，這裏是敘利亞內戰的重要戰場。分析人士擔心，大馬士革和莫斯科方面將利用美國政治過渡的空檔，發動一場旨在擊敗反政府軍的全面攻勢。
