图片新闻【24】Odyssey on the barrage-opening night

By MARCUS WARREN (Filed: 08/10/2001)

A SPECTACULAR sound and light show of one huge flash and then a series of dull booms echoing across the plains marked the start of the American bombardment for those watching north of Kabul last night.

昨晚，我们伫立于喀布尔北方：在一道眩目的闪光和伴随而来的一声巨响之后，接连几声沉闷的爆炸回荡在广阔的平原上，这些标志着美国的空袭行动开始了。

This is not the usual hour for missile and air strikes. Instead of waiting for the dead of night, the Pentagon launched its raid only two hours after sunset.

而此时并不是军事上惯常的实施导弹和空中打击的时间。五角大楼在日落后仅两小时就发动了空袭，而不是耐心等待到深夜。

Then it seemed to be all over almost as soon as it began. The darkness returned to the no-man's land contested by the Taliban and opposition forces north of the capital.

尔后一切都结束了，就象开始一样迅速。夜暗重新笼罩在这片无人居住的土地上，塔利班和首都北方的反对派武装正为此展开激烈争夺。

The Afghan night is blacker than most. There is no electricity across most of the country and as we headed south towards the front line there was not even the dim glow of paraffin lamps to light up the villages and towns we passed through.

阿富汗的夜晚比其他地方更漆黑。这里的大部分地区没有电力供应。当我们向南面的前线跋涉时，我们所经过的村镇甚至没有些许煤油灯的微光。

The only living thing to be seen were stray dogs. Not a person emerged from the darkness until we were given our guide to escort us into the mountains.

这里除了游荡的狗外没有活的生物的迹象。在分派来带领我们进山的向导加入我们的队伍之前，黑沉沉的夜幕中不见一个人影。

We had taken this road once before, a track seemingly with a grudge against vehicles of any sort. That was under the baking sun of midday.

我们曾走过这条路，一条任何车辆都难以碾过的小路。那次是行进在晌午烈日的炙烤下。

Now we were heading up to the anti-Taliban forces' prime observation post north of the capital - in the pitch dark.

此时我们正向位于首都北部的反塔武装力量的主要观察站挺进 – 在这伸手不见五指的黑暗中。

On our first trip we were told to leave a gap between our cars of at least 10 yards for fear of Taliban fire from the top of the mountains. But last night a whole convoy of four-wheel-drive vehicles and pick-up trucks was negotiating the climb with dimmed headlights.

记得在第一次旅途中，有人警告我们要使我们的车辆彼此保持至少10码的距离，以防来自山顶的塔利班炮火的袭击。然而就在昨夜，一整队的四驱车和轻型小货车开着微弱的头灯穿越在崎岖的山路上。

As we arrived at the edge of the village, a blood curdling yell from a sentry rang out. The driver slammed on the brakes. From there it was a short stroll up through an orchard into the village and our vantage point for the evening show ahead.

我们刚驶到那个村子的边上，一个哨位便发出一声凌厉的断喝。司机赶紧踩住刹车。从那里，穿过一片果园小行片刻，来到村中，前面不远就是我们观察当晚军事行动的最佳地点。

Closer to midnight local time the only action to be seen or heard from the mountains 20 miles north of Kabul was the anti-Taliban United Front's rocketing of enemy positions in the plains below.

直到当地时间午夜时分，在这距喀布尔以北约20英里的山地所看到，或者说听到的军事行动只是反塔联合阵线用火箭炮攻击低处平原上敌军的阵地。

The rockets sped towards their targets, landing with an impressive blast and rumble in the distance. In Tobdara, villagers huddled around radios to listen to the news of strikes on cities across the country.

只见火箭高速飞向目标，在远方的弹着处发生猛烈爆炸，并传来隆隆的声响。在Tobdara村，村民们围坐在收音机旁倾听有关全国各城市遭打击的新消息。

"Thank you for your help in the fight against the Taliban," said Saidar Aghagul, a 45-year-old villager, when he learnt that Britain had also been carrying out raids against his enemy.

“谢谢你们帮助我们与塔利班的战斗。”在得知英国也开展了对塔利班的袭击后，一位45岁的村民Saidar Aghagul说。

Earlier last night, anti-Taliban forces north of Kabul were mobilised and on full alert as the Afghan opposition's chief spokesman predicted that American air strikes would start "not soon, but very soon".

昨晚早些时候，在阿富汗反对派首席发言人预测美国的空中打击将“不是不久，而是很快”开始时，喀布尔北部的反塔武装已经动员起来并处于高度戒备。

Air movements in the north of the country were halted, work on a reserve airfield near the Panjshir valley was in full swing and military commanders were on the move in pick-up trucks, raising huge clouds of dust in the gloom of early evening.

在阿北方的空中调动已经终止，而位于Panjshir山谷的一个备用机场的活动异常繁忙，指挥官们坐着轻型货车往来穿梭，在初降的夜幕中扬起滚滚烟尘。

United Front positions facing the Taliban 20 miles from the capital were also reinforced yesterday morning by lorries crammed full with mujahideen fighters heading for the front.

距首都20英里的正对塔利班的联合阵线阵地昨天上午也得到增援，满载游击队员的卡车浩浩荡荡开赴前线。

"You will be able to see it," Abdullah Abdullah, the anti-Taliban Afghanistan's foreign minister and main spokesman, told journalists of the American bombardment to come. "I am not saying soon, very soon."

“你们将会看到行动开始，”反塔联盟的外交部长兼主要发言人Abdullah Abdullah告诉新闻记者美国的空袭就要开始。“我不是说不久，而是很快。”

Taliban troops on the Shamali plains between the Hindu Kush and Kabul would certainly be targeted by rocketing and aerial bombardment, Mr Abdullah forecast.

Abdullah预测部署在印古什和喀布尔之间的Shamali平原的塔利班军队无疑将是火箭和空袭火力的目标。

本文中文翻译由世博英语Robin完成，深表感谢！