VOA标准英语2009年-Al-Shabab Militants Threaten Kenya for Rec

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
12 October 2009

Somalia's al-Shabab extremists have renewed their threat to launch attacks on Kenya. This time, the threat follows allegations the Kenyan government is recruiting ethnic¹ Somalis in northeastern Kenya to fight al-Shabab in Somalia. 

 Ethnic Somalis in the Kenyan town of Garissa are telling reporters Kenyan authorities have recruited as many as 200 teen-aged boys there in recent weeks. The boys are allegedly being trained at a military camp in the coastal² city of Mombasa.

Garissa resident Haile Mohamed Yusuf says her 18-year-old son believed he was going to be trained to join the Kenyan police when he left Garissa for Mombasa. She says there has been no word from her son since.

In neighboring Somalia, al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants³, who control vast areas of the country, are using such reports to denounce what they say is a secret campaign by the Kenyan government to send Somali-Kenyan soldiers to Somalia to fight against them. 

Al-Shabab's chief spokesman, Ali Mohamud Rage, alleges⁴ recruits are being trained in preparation for an assault on al-Shabab controlled towns in Middle and Lower Juba regions.

Rage says if the Kenyan government does not cease recruiting and training ethnic Somalis, al-Shabab will begin attacking inside Kenya.

Al-Shabab, listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, is currently battling to overthrow⁵ the Western-backed government in the Somali capital Mogadishu and to gain full control of the country. Since it emerged in 2004, the group has been strengthening ties with al-Qaida and affiliated⁶ groups.

For months, Kenya's under-developed northeastern region, inhabited mostly by ethnic Somalis, had been the focus of efforts by al-Shabab to influence and recruit young men from Kenya.

In August, al-Shabab fighters stormed a school in the town of Mandera, ordering students to quit school and join the war against the "enemies of Islam" in Somalia.  Some Kenyans have testified that they were offered as much as $650 from al-Shabab militants to go fight in Somalia.

The Kenyan government has not commented on allegations it is recruiting young men in the area. But Kenya's chief police spokesman, Eric Kiraithe, tells VOA that the country's security forces are prepared to deal with any al-Shabab threat.

"We have not seen the statement and certainly the matter will be investigated," said Kiraithe. [But] we have the capacity to protect the republic [in] every possible way."

In July, Somalia's embattled government appealed for neighboring countries, including Kenya, to send troops to Somalia to intervene in the conflict. Al-Shabab warned Kenya that if any Kenyan soldier is found across the border in Somalia, the group would send suicide bombers⁷ into the Kenyan capital.

1 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。

2 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 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。

4 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

5 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。

6 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

7 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》