2006年VOA标准英语-Islamic Courts Seize Somali Town of Jowhar

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
14 June 2006

In Somalia, fighters loyal to the Islamic Courts have captured the town of Jowhar, one week after taking control of the capital Mogadishu.  This comes on the heels of lawmakers approving a peacekeeping mission for Somalia. The approval of foreign peacekeepers sets the transitional government up for a dramatic, and possibly violent confrontation¹ with the Islamic Courts Union, which has repeatedly rejected the idea of any foreign troops in the country. 

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A reporter for the French news agency, AFP, who is in Mogadishu, Ali Musa Abdi, describes to VOA the situation in Jowhar, 90 kilometers north of the capital.

"There was brief fighting, which was really very heavy, on the outskirts² of Jowhar," he explained.  "The fighting was concentrating on the airport area and another village some 15 kilometers from Jowhar.  The Islamic Court militia³ were making [an] advance, while the forces loyal to Somali faction⁴ leader Mohamed Omar Habed [Dheere] were retreating back until they [went] back into Jowhar town when their defense⁵ line was destroyed.  Then they finally left the town and some civilians⁶ were fleeing.  Fortunately, the violence was not involving the civilian⁷ inhabited areas from the beginning."

 
Somali Islamic militia members rest next to a truck carrying an anti aircraft gun that they have seized from a secular⁸ alliance of warlords 
  
The battle follows several months of intense warfare⁹ in Mogadishu between militias¹⁰ loyal to the Islamic Courts and a group of warlords and militias comprising the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-terrorism.

More than 300 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured during the latest unrest.  Last week, the Islamic Courts claimed to have taken control of Mogadishu and the militia's control has now spread to Jowhar, which at one time was the temporary location of the transitional Somali government.

Warlords supporting the anti-terrorism alliance had moved into Jowhar following their defeat in Mogadishu.

The Islamic Courts militia controls much of southern Somalia.  It is not clear at this point whether it will work with the fledgling transitional government, which is based in the town of Baidoa, or set up an administration that will rival the government.

Ever since civil war broke out in 1991, militias loyal to clan¹¹ and sub-clan-based factions¹² have controlled different parts of the country, with no central authority to provide law and order or basic services to the population.

A transitional Somali parliament was formed in Kenya more than a year ago as part of an effort to bring peace to the country.

1 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

4 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 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。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 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。

9 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

10 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

11 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。

12 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别