2006年VOA标准英语-Factional Violence Fuels Anti-American Res

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
09 May 2006

In recent months, Mogadishu, Somalia has become a deadly battleground between militias¹ loyal to Islamic courts and a newly formed anti-terror coalition² that is believed to have the support of the United States. The violence is renewing anti-American sentiment in the Somali capital.

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Man looks at remains³ of American Embassy in Mogadishu, which was destroyed after US troops left Mogadishu, in 1995 
  

Last Thursday, a reporter asked a spokesman for the State Department, Sean McCormack, if the United States was funding and supporting a coalition of Mogadishu-based factional leaders who recently formed a group called the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism.

"We are working with individual members of the transitional government to try to create a better situation in Somalia," he answered. "Our other operating principle is to work with responsible individuals and certainly members of the transitional government in fighting terror."

McCormack provided no details. But Somalis say that answer was enough to confirm their suspicions that, as part of its global war on terror, the United States is giving active support to some of the most powerful factional leaders and their business allies in the Somali capital.

At least four ministers in Somalia's transitional government are factional leaders, who are members of the new anti-terror alliance. The group refuses to say whether it is receiving American help. But its members say they have the same objective as the United States, namely to curb⁴ the growing influence of Islamic extremism in Somalia and to keep potential terrorists from establishing a safe haven⁵ there.

Since the alliance was formed three months ago, its secular⁶ fighters have fought pitched battles with militias belonging to Mogadishu's Islamic courts. Hospital workers there say more than 100 people, many of them civilians⁷, have been killed in clashes so far.

The first Islamic court was set up in Mogadishu in 1994, to establish a semblance⁸ of law and order after Somalia descended⁹ into anarchy¹⁰ three years earlier.

But there are now as many as 11 Islamic courts operating in the capital and some are believed to be harboring Muslim extremists, including members of the al-Qaida terrorist organization.

Mogadishu-based journalist Mohammed Amiin Sheik Adow says few Somalis support Muslim extremism and many are in favor of adopting ways to stop militants¹¹ from establishing a firm foothold in the country.

But Adow says Somalis do not want factional leaders heading up that fight. It was warring clan¹² leaders and their militias, who left Somalia in chaotic¹³ ruin after the fall of Somali dictator Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991. Adow says Somalis are fed up with them and many have been turning to Islamic courts, seeking protection from the warlords.

"The Islamic clerics are [considered] better than the warlords because they set up Islamic Shariah [law] courts in Mogadishu, which at least can do something about security," he noted¹⁴.

Some Somalis complain that some members of the anti-terror alliance are already using their access to U.S. officials in a bid to destroy rivals.

A Mogadishu-based businessman tells VOA about an incident earlier this year, in which a powerful alliance member tried to convince visiting American officials that the businessman was a potential terrorist.

The businessman, Abukar Omar Adan, says his dispute with alliance member Bashir Raghe Shirar began over a road that connects Mogadishu to Somalia's El-Ma'an port, the busiest port in the country. Both men claimed ownership of the road.

Adan says Shirar tried to have him arrested by telling the Americans that he was an active member of al-Qaida. Adan, a devout¹⁵ Muslim, says he supports the Islamic courts but not terrorism.

U.S. officials have declined to discuss specific details about the United States' efforts to re-engage Somalia after its disastrous¹⁶ military intervention¹⁷ there in the early 1990s.

But Somalis warn that supporting factional leaders could bear a heavy price. Islamic courts are portraying¹⁸ the anti-terror alliance as a proxy¹⁹ army of the United States to fight Islam. And that growing perception, they say, is helping²⁰ to strengthen, not curb, Islamic extremism in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia.

Somalis say the priority for the United States right now should not be on capturing terrorists, but on re-establishing a functioning government and helping re-build the country's long-broken infrastructure²¹ as quickly as possible.

1 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 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。

4 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

5 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

6 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

9 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

10 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

11 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

12 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

13 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

16 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

17 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。

18 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

19 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

20 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

21 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。