2006年VOA标准英语-Western Cameraman Killed Filming Rally in Somal

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
23 June 2006

A Western cameraman was shot dead Friday in Somalia's capital as he was filming a rally there.

Media reports indicate that the cameraman, Martin Adler, was a Swedish citizen who frequently worked for the British television station Channel 4.

The cameraman was filming a rally in Mogadishu when the incident occurred.

Mohamed Dare, an editor at the news agency Horn Afrik who was standing¹ near the cameraman, described to VOA what happened.

 
Militia² from Islamic Courts Union arrive at rally moments after unidentified gunman shot dead a Swedish cameraman, June 23
  
"The cameraman Martin was standing near to where the leaders of the Islamic courts were sitting," he said. "It was a heavily guarded place. Islamic militants³ surrounded there. Then the cameraman was taking photographs of the people, and the people were in front of him. Then, the cameraman ran and laid on the ground. We have seen blood. He was shot on the back. He laid on the ground for at least 10 minutes bleeding."

Dare says Islamic militants then rushed the cameraman to hospital, but he died along the way.

It is unclear who shot the Swedish cameraman and why.

Dare says the Union of Islamic Courts was quick to condemn⁴ the shooting.

"Islamic courts [chairman] Sheikh Sharif spoke⁵ to the local media," he said. "He said we are so sorry that the killing⁶ was behind people who don't want peace in Mogadishu and who want to bother the Islamists here in Mogadishu, he said."

The killing took place one day after the Union of Islamic courts and Somalia's transitional government signed a peace agreement in Sudan to put in place a cease-fire.

More than 350 people were killed and more than a 1,000 wounded during fighting that took place over the past few months between militias⁷ loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts and militias and warlords of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism.

The Union of Islamic Courts eventually defeated the counterterrorism alliance. At the beginning of June, the Islamic courts took control of the capital Mogadishu and then Jowhar, a town that was once the temporary capital of Somalia's transitional government.

This is the second Western media killing in Mogadishu in recent times. In February last year, an unidentified gunman shot dead a producer with the British Broadcasting Corporation.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 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。

3 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。

4 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 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