2007年VOA标准英语-Ethiopia Claims Gains Over Eastern Rebels

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
07 August 2007

Ethiopia's government is claiming near victory over a rebel group that has waged war against it in eastern Ethiopia, just days after bombs killed one person and wounded at least eight in the region's capital. Nick Wadhams has more for VOA from Nairobi.

 

The government says the Ogaden National Liberation Front was behind the two bomb blasts Sunday in Jijiga, the latest sign of years of turmoil¹ in the troubled eastern region.

Last month, Ethiopia expelled the International Committee of the Red Cross and it has barred journalists from traveling outside of Jijiga in the Ogaden. Human-rights groups say the the Ethiopian government is cracking down on civilians² as it tries to chase down the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

Ethiopian government spokesman, Zemedkun Tekle, repeated Ethiopia's denials of rights abuses in the Ogaden. He told VOA News the government has captured most of the members of the group, which gained widespread notoriety when it killed 74 people during an April attack on a Chinese-run oil facility.

"You know, our security forces are hunting them, and at this time we do have results that we are getting to make them not to affect the peaceful conditions around that region," he said. "A lot of them have been destroyed."

The rebel group rejects the claim and has blamed Sunday's bomb blasts on the government, calling it "a despicable act of desperation by cronies of the Ethiopian regime."

The Ogaden National Liberation Front says government agents are setting off bombs in the region to justify³ the crackdown. It is calling for the United Nations to intervene.

The rebel group's spokesman in London, Abdirahman Mahdi, says the Ethiopian government is forcibly conscripting young men to fight the Ogaden National Liberation Front. He says the ONLF is stronger than before.

"They did not even touch 1/10th of one percent of ONLF forces. We can actually tell you we are 10-times stronger than before because all the people are now very angry," said Abdi. "That is why they are so desperate now trying to force the people to fight us. They have called all the elders, and they have told them that they must bring young men to fight the ONLF."

Ethiopia's government has been accused in the past of pressing young men into military service to fight disparate rebel groups across the country.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front was founded in 1984 to fight what it says is the brutalization of ethnic⁴ Somalis by the Ethiopian government.

The government crackdown on the rebel group began after Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia in December in support of the interim⁵ government there and against the Islamic Courts Union. The Ethiopian government says the Islamic Courts Union was allowing Ethiopian rebel groups to maintain bases across the border.

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 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。

3 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 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。