美国国家公共电台 NPR--What led to the deadly attack on a popular hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu?

What led to the deadly attack on a popular hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu?

Transcript¹

Terror group Al Shabab was responsible for last week's 30-hour siege at a hotel. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Omar Mahmoud of the International Crisis Group about why the group remains² powerful.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group, stormed a popular hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, the other day. Somali forces pushed back and ended a 30-hour siege, but the attack left 21 people dead and dozens wounded. Let's talk about this with Omar Mahmoud, who is a senior analyst³ with the International Crisis Group. His focus is East Africa. Welcome to the program.

OMAR MAHMOUD: Thank you very much for having me, Steve.

INSKEEP: I feel that Americans may need a reorientation on al-Shabab. They haven't been in the news very much here lately. Who are they, and what do they want?

MAHMOUD: Well, al-Shabab is a militant⁴ Islamist group that's been present in Somalia, fighting against the government there for about the past 15 years. They were born out of an Ethiopian invasion to Somalia and started out as resisting that, but over time have become really the dominant⁵ governing actor in rural areas of Somalia, while the government's hunkered down in sort of the urban centers. But they're pushing for their version of Islamic Sharia law to be implemented⁶ across Somalia, and that's where they've continued this fight against the Somali government.

INSKEEP: If their strength is in the rural areas, is it surprising they would get into Mogadishu and assault a hotel on this scale?

MAHMOUD: Well, their strength is in the rural areas, but they maintain the ability to penetrate⁷ urban centers and urban centers controlled by the government as well. So we've seen attacks like this quite frequently, honestly. You know, the past year or two, they had tapered⁸ off, but before that, this type of incident, unfortunately, was a regular occurrence.

INSKEEP: As you talk about this rural-urban divide, I immediately think of Afghanistan, where the Taliban controlled rural areas long before they could control the cities. It was thought the cities could hold out, and that turned out not to be true. Are there any parallels here?

MAHMOUD: Yeah. I mean, I think there's always many contextual differences between two different circumstances. But I think, of course, you know, we can't fail to see some of the parallels as well. And al-Shabab's strength is really being able to hold those rural areas because that allows them access to populations in order to supplement their recruitment. It allows them to tax and have extortion practices along some of the trade routes. And so that's really kind of their center of gravity, and that's what helps them conduct the penetration⁹ into urban areas as well.

INSKEEP: What kind of strength does the government have to push back?

MAHMOUD: Well, the government does have a number of advantages with it. You know, it has international backing. For example, there is a African Union peacekeeping mission, which helps protect the government in urban centers. There's, of course, the U.S. military presence. President Trump¹⁰, in the waning¹¹ days, had announced he was repositioning some of those troops out of Somalia, but President Biden has brought them back in. There's a little bit of air power with that as well. We have to remember, though, this is a government that's still been formed. You know, 15 years ago, it didn't exist at all. So it's still slowly coming into its own, but it does have significant outside support.

INSKEEP: You mentioned the U.S. presence. In your judgment¹², has the U.S. presence been constructive¹³, helpful there?

MAHMOUD: I think it's been helpful, but insufficient¹⁴. And by that, I mean the U.S. presence has focused very much from a counterterrorism perspective, very much from a military perspective. And there have been some successes there. There's an elite¹⁵ part of the Somali National Army that's been trained by the U.S. that's done quite well. And some of the drone strikes do keep pressure on Shabab. But the problem is that the military is only part of the solution. There's not as much focus on the political work, on terms of the reconciliation¹⁶, in terms of getting the Somali government to function politically and in a manner that can also match the coherence¹⁷ of an organization like Shabab. So I think it's part of the puzzle, but it hasn't been the full part.

INSKEEP: Omar Mahmoud is a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. Thanks so much.

MAHMOUD: Thank you for having me.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

6 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

7 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

8 tapered   

adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The tail tapered to a rounded tip. 尾部越来越细，最后成了个圆尖。
• The organization tapered off in about half a year. 那个组织大约半年内就逐渐消失了。

9 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

13 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

14 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

15 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

16 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

17 coherence   

n.紧凑；连贯；一致性

参考例句：

• There was no coherence between the first and the second half of the film.这部电影的前半部和后半部没有连贯性。
• Environmental education is intended to give these topics more coherence.环境教育的目的是使这些课题更加息息相关。