VOA标准英语2009年-Al-Qaida Linked Group Gains Control of Som

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
02 October 2009

 
Kismayo, Somalia
Al-Shabab militants¹ in Somalia have claimed control of the country's southern port town of Kismayo, one day after deadly fighting with a rival Islamist group. But the city remains² tense amid reports that factions³ of the rival group, Hizbul Islam, are preparing to launch a counter offensive. 

Al-Shabab militants patrolled Kismayo town in vehicles Friday, assuring residents that the fighting between al-Shabab and militiamen loyal to the Ras Kamboni Brigade and Anole factions of Hizbul Islam is over. 

According to residents, the Hizbul Islam factions withdrew from the key port town to villages about 30 kilometers outside of Kismayo after suffering heavy casualties in Thursday's battle. 

The early-morning attack by al-Shabab had been widely anticipated. Last week, the two factions of Hizbul Islam, which had been in an uneasy political alliance with al-Shabab since they jointly⁴ captured Kismayo last year, rejected a new al-Shabab administration that excluded members of Ras Kamboni and Anole. Taxes collected at the Kismayo seaport⁵ represent an important source of revenue for both al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam. 

Scores of combatants were killed and wounded on both sides in the battle to possibly include al-Shabab's top military commander in Middle and Lower Jubba regions and a senior Anole commander. There are also reports that al-Shabab militants were fighting in Kismayo under the command of several foreigners, including Eritrean and Pakistani officers.

Al-Shabab, a U.S.-designated terrorist group with ties to al-Qaida, claimed victory. But speaking to Somali reporters late Thursday, al-Shabab's chief spokesman Ali Mohamed Rage, also known as Ali Dhere, insisted that al-Shabab was not at war with Hisbul Islam, but at war with a senior commander of the Ras Kamboni Brigade, who brought fighters into Kismayo earlier this week to challenge al-Shabab's unilateral decision.

The al-Shabab spokesman says his group was forced to defend itself against those who challenged Islamist rule in Kismayo, suggesting that the Ras Kamboni group commander challenged al-Shabab because of clan⁶ interests. 

Ras Kamboni and Anole are Islamist groups with strong ties to local sub-clans of one of the largest tribes in Somalia, the Darod.  Al-Shabab rejects tribalism and wants to turn Somalia into an ultra-conservative Islamic caliphate. Until now, the Islamist alliance in Kismayo has largely been held together by their mutual⁷ desire to overthrow⁸ the U.N.-backed government in Mogadishu. 

A politician from the Lower Juba region, Mohamed Ali Osman says he believes al-Shabab will have a difficult time trying to administer the Juba regions without the support of Ras Kamboni group and Anole.

"Unfortunately, al-Shabab took over [Kismayo] and used the port for in-land revenue and they killed a lot of politicians, intellectuals, and former military officers," said Mohamed Ali Osman. "Therefore, everybody [is] fed up with al-Shabab in Kismayo. We, the local politicians and local people, are supporting Ras Kamboni and Anole because they promised us if they take over Kismayo and the region, they will allow everybody to take part in the administration and also the humanitarian⁹ organizations to get access freely."

Osman says since early Friday, reinforcements for Ras Kamboni and Anole have been arriving in Lower Juba from other parts of Somalia and there is growing fear that another vicious round of fighting will soon begin. 

Hizbul Islam emerged in February as an insurgent¹⁰ group opposed to Somalia's transitional federal government under former insurgent leader Sharif Sheik Ahmed and the 5,000 African Union troops deployed¹¹ in Mogadishu to protect the government. 

In addition to the Ras Kamboni Brigade and Anole, Hisbul Islam is composed of two other factions - the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia and the Islamic Front. It is yet unclear what role, if any, they are playing in the conflict in Kismayo.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 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。

3 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

4 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

5 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

6 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。

7 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

8 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

9 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。

10 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。