2006年VOA标准英语-Somali Islamist Leaders Warns Against African P

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
28 November 2006

A top Somali Islamist leader warned the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that authorizing¹ African peacekeepers to intervene in the Somali conflict would start an all-out war in the Horn of Africa. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has this report from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

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Speaking to several thousand people at a rally in the Somali capital Mogadishu, the leader of the executive wing of the Islamic Courts Union denounced the draft Security Council resolution on Somalia, expected to be unveiled by the United States this week in New York.

Somali women demonstrators hold a banner during a rally to protest the presence of Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu Somalia, 28 Nov 2006

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said the resolution, if adopted, would send thousands of armed troops from neighboring countries into Somalia, igniting a major regional conflict.

"We are telling the international community that we view this draft resolution as nothing more than an effort to help Ethiopia take over our country," he said. ""If the United Nations backs this resolution, I promise you that there will be an all-out war in the Horn of Africa."

The chief of security for the Islamist movement, Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad Inda'ade went further, vowing² to summon Muslim fighters from around the world to resist the peacekeeping mission.

Ethiopia's fiercely anti-Islamist Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is believed to have already sent thousands of combat troops into Somalia to protect Somalia's secular-but-powerless interim³ government, headquartered in the town of Baidoa.

Ethiopia's arch rival in the region, Eritrea, is accused of sending troops and weapons to the Islamists.

A recent U.N. report accused eight other countries from across the Middle East and Africa of providing arms to their proxies⁴ in Somalia, fueling fears that if a war did break out there, it would rival the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The draft resolution, being prepared in consultation⁵ with Britain, calls for an eight thousand-strong peacekeeping force, put together by the African Union and the seven-member regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, known as IGAD.

As members of IGAD, Ethiopia, Uganda, and possibly Kenya would contribute troops. Their objectives are to strengthen Somalia's shaky interim government and to keep the Islamists, who seized Mogadishu just five months ago and already control most of southern and central Somalia, from further expanding their power.

The proposed resolution also calls for the easing of a 1992 U.N. arms embargo⁶ to enable the peacekeepers and Somalia's interim government forces to legally obtain weapons.

Washington views the draft resolution, which has the backing of African members of the Security Council, as a way to stabilize⁷ Somalia and to check the advance of the Islamists, whose leadership is believed to have deep ties to militant⁸ anti-Western terrorist groups.

But critics say authorizing the deployment⁹ of a regional intervention¹⁰ force, especially one which includes Ethiopian troops, may actually increase the likelihood of war.

Matt Bryden, a Nairobi-based expert on Somalia, says Sheikh Ahmed's dire¹¹ warning should not come as a surprise.

"The courts have warned repeatedly that they would wage jihad against any foreign troops on Somali soil. I think this has been misunderstood by some international actors, who feel that because there have been Ethiopian troops on the ground in Somalia and the courts have not waged an all-out war, that somehow this was a bluff¹². I think this is a mistake," said Bryden. "Really, it has been a question of the courts not being ready for an all-out assault and also a question of the weather, heavy rains in recent weeks. But the weather is drying up. Both sides are fully¹³ mobilized and we should take this warning from Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed very seriously."

The authors of the recent U.N. report on Somalia also recommended against the deployment of a peacekeeping force, saying it would only exacerbate¹⁴ regional tensions and heighten terrorist activities.

1 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

2 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

3 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

4 proxies   

n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 )；（测算用的）代替物；（对代理人的）委托书；（英国国教教区献给主教等的）巡游费

参考例句：

• SOCKS and proxies are unavailable. Try connecting to XX again? socks和代理不可用。尝试重新连接到XX吗？ 来自互联网
• All proxies are still down. Continue with direct connections? 所有的代理仍然有故障。继续直接连接吗？ 来自互联网

5 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

6 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

7 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

8 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。

9 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

10 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

11 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

12 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。