VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-01-13 Terrorism Threat Remains Strong in Africa

 

AS IT IS 2014-01-13 Terrorism Threat Remains¹ Strong in Africa

Hello, and welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English.

I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.

Today we report from Africa on how the continent is dealing² with the growing threat of terrorism.   

“We also need to fight the causes of radicalization: poverty, a sense of frustration³ and rejection⁴ by the state, and under-development.”

Terrorist Threat Remains Strong in Africa 

2013 appears to have been the year the world woke up to African terrorism terrorists in Africa.  Military gains against Islamist fighters in places like Mali and Somalia were followed by major terrorist attacks in neighboring countries.  Such events demonstrated how complex and strong the threat remains.

Caty Weaver⁵ reports.

2013 began with France sending troops to Mali, its former colony.  Al-Qaida-linked fighters in control of northern Mali were moving south to try to capture the whole country.  Mali’s army was not strong enough to defeat the rebels. French and African troops stopped the move, and re-captured control of the north.  But Islamist fighters then attacked a natural gas center in nearby Algeria.  They took hundreds of people hostage and killed at least 36 foreigners.

In Somalia, conditions appeared to be improving at the beginning of last year.  Kenyan and African Union troops had forced the militant⁶ group al-Shabab from several cities.  But in September, a small number of al-Shabab fighters attacked a shopping center in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.  They killed more than 60 people. The attack uncovered weaknesses in Kenyan security and intelligence agencies.

The world watched as hundreds escaped the shopping center.

“All I could remember people saying is ‘lie down, lie down.’  And so everyone kept lying down.  Everyone was crawling.”

Nigeria says it is winning its fight against Boko Haram, the Islamist rebel group it has been fighting since 2009.  In May, Nigeria launched an offensive against the group that continues today.  The United Nations says more than 1,200 people have been killed in the offensive.  But Boko Haram continues to attack.

This pattern has been seen throughout Africa:  Islamist fighters seize territory and create safe places from which they can plan further attacks.  They may even try to govern their captured territory.  But when soldiers attack, the Islamists cross borders. They attack in new places. And, they seek young fighters to strengthen their groups.

Bakary Sambe is a Senegalese researcher.  He says military action -- especially by Western forces -- often hurts the fight against terrorists.

“It’s absurd to say you can make war on terrorism which by nature is constantly regenerating⁷ and evolving.   We also need to fight the causes of radicalization: poverty, a sense of frustration and rejection by the state, and under-development.”

Experts say al-Shabab is the best-organized of the al-Qaida-linked groups in Africa. They say it has fighters in more countries than any other terrorist group.  The experts say the Westgate Mall attack strengthened the group and helped it attract new fighters.

Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamed is a Horn of Africa expert based in Nairobi.  He says the international community must keep putting pressure on al-Shabab.

“They have an agenda beyond Somalia.  They have an agenda beyond, beyond the region.  They are going to Islamize the whole world by force -- not by preaching, by force.”

The United States and the European Union are watching the fight against terrorism in Africa closely.  And France will continue its military presence in Mali. But other Western powers do not plan to deploy⁸ troops in the fight.  They will, however, continue to give money to support and train African troops to fight terrorism.

I’m Caty Weaver.

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And that’s our program for today.  It was written in Special English from reports by VOA correspondents Anne Look in Dakar and Gabe Joselow in Nairobi.

Every day on As It Is we report on issues that we believe are of interest to you.

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Thank you for spending some of your time with us today.

I’m Christopher Cruise reporting from VOA Learning English headquarters in Washington.

Steve Ember will be here tomorrow with another edition of As It Is, beginning at 0030 Universal Time, with rebroadcasts throughout the day.  I hope you’ll join him then, here on The Voice of America.

1 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。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

5 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

6 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。

7 regenerating   

v.新生，再生( regenerate的现在分词 )；正反馈

参考例句：

• It is not proposed to deal with the detailed histology of regenerating tissues here. 这里未提出详细的再生组织的组织学。 来自辞典例句
• This is accomplished by using a thermocompressor to recycle regenerating steam through the absorber. 它用热压机使再生蒸汽经吸附器循环完成解吸过程。 来自辞典例句

8 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

9 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

10 captioned   

a.标题项下的； 标题所说的

参考例句：

• This paper reviews the production, development and nationalization of the captioned materials. 本文就铜系合金引线框架材料的生产、发展和国产化进程作一论述。
• Please advise other considerable hotels for this captioned group. 请推荐其它一些高级的旅馆给这一群打标语的人。

11 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》