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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
22 March 2007
Following a day of heavy fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, the Ugandan commander of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia is urging several African countries, who have pledged to contribute troops to the mission, to speed up their deployment2. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has that story and more from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.
Mogadishu residents gather around body of Somali soldier killed during heavy fighting, 21 Mar1. 2007
The Ugandan commander, Major General Levi Karuhanga, made the appeal for more peacekeeping troops, after an angry mob, believed to be loyal to the ousted3 Islamic Courts Union, dragged the bodies of two pro-government soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu and set them on fire Wednesday.
The chief spokesman of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, Ugandan army Captain Paddy Ankunda, tells VOA that the escalating4 violence should not deter5 other nations from fulfilling their pledge to send troops.
"That (the violence) should compel them to come to Somalia because it is an indicator6 that there is a problem and Africans must rise up to solve it," Ankunda said.
The A.U. peacekeeping mission in Somalia right now is made up of just 1,500 Ugandan soldiers, who have been attacked daily by insurgents8 since their arrival in Mogadishu earlier this month.
The central African country of Burundi has offered to send 1,700 troops, but it says it does not have enough equipment for the mission. Nigeria, Malawi and Ghana have also said they would send troops, but they have not yet given details of their deployment schedule.
Even if all four countries sent peacekeepers, the mission would still be thousands short from reaching its goal of deploying9 8,000 African troops in Somalia to protect the country's interim10 government, train its security forces, and restore order.
Wounded Somali man arrives at Medina hospital in Mogadishu, 22 Mar 2007
Captain Ankunda refused to speculate as to what would happen if no other country joined Uganda in the mission. But he acknowledged that the insurgency11 his men are facing in Mogadishu is becoming more lethal12 and better organized every day.
Ankunda said there are fears that terrorist networks, such as al-Qaida, may be helping13 Somali Islamist insurgents refine their tactics.
"We have no evidence, but we think it is very likely they are playing a role," he said.
On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger told reporters in Nairobi that he believed radical14 Islamists in Mogadishu were regrouping and becoming more organized.
"To the extent they are seeking to reorganize, undoubtedly15 there is al-Qaida encouragement to that and support for that. But I would not attribute what is going on necessarily to al-Qaida at this point," Ambassador Ranneberger said.
Witnesses say Wednesday's insurgent7 attacks in the capital were some of the most violent since an Ethiopian-led invasion led to the downfall of the Mogadishu-based Islamist movement almost three months ago.
The United Nations estimates 40,000 people have fled Mogadishu since early February.
1 mar | |
vt.破坏,毁坏,弄糟 | |
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2 deployment | |
n. 部署,展开 | |
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3 ousted | |
驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 ); 革职; 罢黜; 剥夺 | |
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4 escalating | |
v.(使)逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 );(使)逐步扩大;(使)更高;(使)更大 | |
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5 deter | |
vt.阻止,使不敢,吓住 | |
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6 indicator | |
n.指标;指示物,指示者;指示器 | |
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7 insurgent | |
adj.叛乱的,起事的;n.叛乱分子 | |
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8 insurgents | |
n.起义,暴动,造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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9 deploying | |
(尤指军事行动)使展开( deploy的现在分词 ); 施展; 部署; 有效地利用 | |
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10 interim | |
adj.暂时的,临时的;n.间歇,过渡期间 | |
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11 insurgency | |
n.起义;暴动;叛变 | |
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12 lethal | |
adj.致死的;毁灭性的 | |
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13 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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14 radical | |
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的 | |
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15 undoubtedly | |
adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
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