voa标准英语2008年-Somali Leaders Locked In Internal Dispute While

The feuding¹ leaders of Somalia's transitional government are deadlocked² in a dispute over cabinet appointments as Islamist rebel forces advance to within striking distance of the capital, Mogadishu. VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein reports from Addis Ababa, where Somalia's president and prime minister met Ethiopian officials for urgent talks how to settle political differences and meet the rebel challenge.

Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein met Friday with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin for what were described as frank talks.

Sources close to the meeting said Ethiopian officials urged the two Somali leaders to settle a political dispute over cabinet posts. But at the end of the day, those sources said neither President Yusuf or Prime Minister Hussein was willing to yield. Both men left later in the day for Nairobi, where discussions are said to be continuing on formation of a new government of national unity³ to replace the embattled Transitional Federal Government, which holds power mostly in name only.

Amid the political wrangling⁴ in the Ethiopian and Kenyan capitals, reports from inside Somalia indicate fighters from the extremist al-Shabab are advancing on the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Shabab forces met no resistance this week when they moved into the key port of Marka, less than 100 kilometers south of the capital. News reports said they immediately imposed strict Islamic law.
　

Al-Shabab gunmen during exercises at their military training camp outside Mogadishu, 04 Nov 2008

Ethiopian and Somali officials in Addis Ababa, however, downplayed the significance of al-Shabab's advance. Somalia's former ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union Abdi Kareem Farah, who is playing a key role in political negotiations⁶, told VOA the areas taken by al-Shabab had not previously⁷ been under TFG control.

"Of course we can say they are advancing toward Mogadishu, its quite true, but the areas they are capturing now is not under the TFG, only Marka, where the capital city of lower Shabelle, at one point the TFG appointed administration, but that administration dissolved by itself and the people four months ago," he said.

Farah admits the feuding leaders are in his words "stuck" in their efforts to settle their political dispute, as they had agreed to do in a deal struck through the east African regional grouping IGAD. He said it may be necessary to put aside the disagreement about cabinet posts and proceed directly to the formation of a successor government of national unity, which would include the opposition⁸ Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, or ARS.

Farah said this is an issue on which Prime Minister Hussein, better known as Nur Adde, and President Yusuf agree.

"Nur Adde is the one who started these negotiation⁵. He is serious about it and will continue to finish it. Abdullahi Yusuf and parliament also welcome that. And that is the Unity govt. maybe under Yusuf, or Nur Adde or maybe a complete new leadership," said Farah.

Ethiopian foreign ministry⁹ spokesman Wahde Belay expressed regret at the lack of progress in settling Somalia's political dispute, and said it could have a bearing on Ethiopia's decision whether to withdraw its troops from Somalia in line with last month's Djibouti accord. Wahde said Ethiopia remains¹¹ committed to a withdrawal¹² timetable beginning this month, but noted¹³ that he could not predict what might happen in the future.

As he spoke¹⁰, news agency reports said Somali government troops were massing at a key checkpoint south of Mogadishu where rebel forces are said to have advanced to within a few kilometers of the city.

1 feuding   

vi.长期不和（feud的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Riccardo and Cafiero had been feuding so openly that the whole town knew about it. 里卡多和卡菲埃罗一直公开地闹别扭，全城的人都知道此事。 来自辞典例句
• The two families have been feuding with each other for many generations. 这两个家族有好多代的世仇了。 来自互联网

2 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 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。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。