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(单词翻译)
By Cathy Majtenyi
10 May 2006
A relative of eight year old Nastexo Abdi Ali comforts her in the Medina hospital in Mogadishu
The United Nations has condemned1 the latest round of fighting in Somalia's capital between militias2 loyal to the Islamic courts and a secular3 anti-terrorism alliance. At least 80 people have been killed in the clashes and more than 200 injured.
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Fighting between members of the Islamic Court Union and the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism continued for the fourth day in the streets of Mogadishu.
The conflict reportedly broke out after an assassination4 attempt on one of the counterterrorism alliance's leaders.
Media reports quoted Islamic Court Union Chairman Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed as saying that his group would observe a cease-fire from late Tuesday. But clashes continue.
The U.N. Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, Francois Fall, appealed for the heavily armed militias to stop their warfare5.
Fall tells VOA the fighting is threatening to undermine the peace process and the ability of the recently inaugurated transitional government to function well.
"We took almost two years to put the Somali leaders together and to force the dialogue among the leaders of Somalia to try to rebuild a functional6 state in this country," he said. "The peace process was going very well with the ongoing7 Somali parliament session in Baidoa.
Fall calls for both militias to work within the government system and the Somali parliament, which is currently based in the town of Baidoa.
"All the actors in Somalia should join the group of Baidoa, together, inside the framework of the TFI, the transitional federal institutions. Then we can work together and try to rebuild something consistent in Somalia," he added.
Fierce fighting between the two groups first erupted in Mogadishu in March, leaving at least 60 people dead and hundreds wounded and displaced.
Media reports describe the anti-terrorist alliance, formed three months ago, as being a coalition8 of warlords who aim to stem what they feel is growing Islamic extremism in Somalia. The Islamic courts are said to want to maintain law and order in the volatile9 capital.
It is widely believed that the United States is backing the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack recently told reporters that the United States is, "working with individual members of the transitional government to try to create a better situation in Somalia."
The United States has long been concerned that chaotic10 Somalia could become a haven11 for international terrorists.
There have been more than a dozen attempts to form a central government in Somalia since civil war broke out in 1991. Since then, warlords and their militias have battled with each other and civilians12 to control different parts of the country.
A transitional Somali parliament was formed in Kenya more than a year ago following a two-year peace process, and recently met for the first time in Somalia.
1 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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2 militias | |
n.民兵组织,民兵( militia的名词复数 ) | |
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3 secular | |
n.牧师,凡人;adj.世俗的,现世的,不朽的 | |
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4 assassination | |
n.暗杀;暗杀事件 | |
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5 warfare | |
n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突 | |
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6 functional | |
adj.为实用而设计的,具备功能的,起作用的 | |
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7 ongoing | |
adj.进行中的,前进的 | |
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8 coalition | |
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合 | |
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9 volatile | |
adj.反复无常的,挥发性的,稍纵即逝的,脾气火爆的;n.挥发性物质 | |
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10 chaotic | |
adj.混沌的,一片混乱的,一团糟的 | |
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11 haven | |
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所 | |
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12 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
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