VOA常速英语2007年-Thousands Flee Mogadishu as Violence Intensifie

By Sarah Simpson
Nairobi
01 November 2007

Residents are continuing to flee Somalia's war-torn capital Mogadishu, making the most of a lull¹ in fighting following one of the most violent weekends in recent months. Aid workers and local journalists say as many as 100,000 residents have abandoned their homes as increased violence by all sides in the long-running conflict creates an unparalleled climate of fear. Sarah Simpson has more from VOA's East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

Panic-stricken residents of war-battered Mogadishu are packing up what they can and leaving after a weekend of heavy fighting and growing insecurity.

The United Nations says as many as 88,000 residents have abandoned their homes in just three panic-filled days. Some of the few remaining aid workers and journalists in the city put the figure closer to 100,000.

The government of Somalia, with military support from Ethiopia, is battling an Islamic insurgency². Civilians³ are caught in the middle, according to local journalist Mohammed Ibrahim who ran from Mogadishu to the city's outskirts⁴ on Thursday morning.

"The people are fleeing from the city because they are frightened by the fighting between the insurgents⁵ and the government with the Ethiopian powers," he said.

The U.N. says over 100 people were admitted to hospitals for weapons related injuries in just two days. This is in addition to the more than 3,400 admitted to hospitals with war-related injuries since January.

Christian⁶ Balslev-Olesen, U.N. Humanitarian⁷ Coordinator⁸ for Somalia, in an open letter released Thursday, said he was concerned by the indiscriminate use of force by all sides in the conflict. Reports of house-to-house searches and large-scale detentions⁹ have created a climate of fear, he says.

Journalist Mohammed Ibrahim says looting is a big problem. Like many residents in Mogadishu, he believes that Somalia Transitional Federal Government troops are actively¹⁰ participating in the looting.

"The TFG troops will loot you, will loot your house, will loot your business, will stop and take your mobile phone if you [have] got one, will scare you with their guns, and so on. So the people are afraid and fleeing from the city," he said.

Sheik Don, a doctor with Doctors Without Borders, tells VOA from his base in Mogadishu that much of the city is deserted¹¹.

"The roads are very bad, and most of them are now closed and blocked by the government and Ethiopian forces, and most of the people fled and most of the city is a ghost town. People have evacuated¹² it and it is very, very bad," he said.

In his open letter, the U.N.'s Balslev-Olesen said he was concerned for the safety and well-being¹³ of those who remain in Mogadishu. Many have no access to food since the closure of a main market at the weekend, and humanitarian food distributions have ground to a virtual standstill.

Ibrahim says many of those who have fled - he calls them internally displaced people, or IDPs - are living in makeshift shacks¹⁴ along the roads leading out of Mogadishu.

"You can see the IDPs are everywhere. They do not have water. They do not have any food. Most of them have got diarrhea and so on," he said.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was ousted¹⁵ in 1991, opening the door to years of chaos¹⁶ and violence. Of Somalia's population of 9 million, more than 1.5 million are currently in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, according to the U.N.

1 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

2 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 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。

5 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

9 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

10 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

11 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

12 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

13 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

14 shacks   

n.窝棚，简陋的小屋( shack的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They live in shacks which they made out of wood. 他们住在用木头搭成的简陋的小屋里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most people in Port au-Prince live in tin shacks. 太子港的大多数居民居住在铁皮棚里。 来自互联网

15 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

16 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。