2007年VOA标准英语-Major Clan War Feared in Kismayo, Somalia

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
22 June 2007

In another major setback¹ for international efforts to bring peace to Somalia, a violent power struggle between two sub-clans³ in the port city of Kismayo is fueling fear that an all-out clan² war could erupt at any time and destabilize a key region of southern Somalia.  VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

After days of skirmishes between Marehan and Majerteen sub-clan militias⁴ in the country's third-largest city, residents of Kismayo say heavy fighting erupted on Friday, killing⁵ and wounding dozens of people.

The Marehan and the Majerteen belong to the larger Darod clan, recognized as one of the four major clans in Somalia. 

A Somali aid worker in Kismayo, Ali Bashi, tells VOA that the militiamen of both sub-clans are technically⁶ Somali government troops and government supporters, who are nevertheless bitterly divided along clan lines.

Bashi says Friday's clash in Kismayo between the Marehan and the Majerteen follows a battle the two sides fought on April 23. 

After the battle, Majerteen soldiers withdrew from Kismayo to the town of Bulo Gadud, 35 kilometers away, leaving the city and its strategic port in the hands of the Marehan.

In recent days, Majerteen troops have been seen moving closer to Kismayo.  On Thursday, at least four people were wounded when one group of clan militiamen attacked another. 

The Marehan's grip on Kismayo appears now to have tightened⁷.  VOA has learned that Marehan troops entered Bulo Gadud on Friday and declared victory over the Majerteen sub-clan.

Somali interim8 President Abdullahi Yusuf

Since the 1990s, Kismayo has been the center of various Darod sub-clan power struggles.  

But the latest fighting has many Somalis concerned that interim President Abdullahi Yusuf, who is a Majerteen and kinsman⁹ to the soldiers defeated by the Marehan, could launch a retaliatory¹⁰ strike against the Marehan and start a major clan war. 

Since capturing the Somali capital, Mogadishu, from Islamist forces in late December, President Yusuf's Ethiopian and western-backed government has promised to end clan politics and unify¹¹ the country after 16 years of civil war.

Ethiopian soldiers guard massive cache of weapons at a military compound in Mogadishu, Somalia, 14 June 2007

But many Somalis in the capital and elsewhere say clan divisions recently have become sharper than ever, and they accuse top government leaders of manipulating those divisions to benefit their own clans and sub-clans.

Meanwhile, a government-imposed nighttime curfew in Mogadishu went into effect on Friday. The government says the curfew is necessary to curb¹² attacks by insurgents¹³ who have targeted government officials, Somali police, and Ethiopian troops.

In recent weeks, Ethiopian and Somali troops have searched businesses and houses throughout the capital, confiscating¹⁴ several truckloads of munitions¹⁵ and weapons, including land mines, mortars¹⁶, rockets, and missiles.

1 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

2 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。

3 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

4 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

5 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。

6 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

7 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

8 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

9 kinsman   

n.男亲属

参考例句：

• Tracing back our genealogies,I found he was a kinsman of mine.转弯抹角算起来他算是我的一个亲戚。
• A near friend is better than a far dwelling kinsman.近友胜过远亲。

10 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

11 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

12 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。

13 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

14 confiscating   

没收（confiscate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• There was Mame by my side confiscating my intellects and attention. 有玛米坐在我身边，害得我心不在焉。
• Intimidate book sellers by confiscating books deemed unfavourable to the Barisan government. 充公被视为对国阵不利的书籍，威胁书商。

15 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

16 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分