VOA标准英语2009年-Yemen, Iran trade Accusations About Houthi

By Elizabeth Arrott
Cairo
28 October 2009

Yemen's government has confirmed reports its coast guard has seized an Iranian ship with arms it says were destined¹ for Yemeni rebels. Iranian media counters the Yemeni government is using al-Qaida in its war against the Shi'ite rebels.

Yemen's Interior Ministry² says it is questioning five Iranians found aboard a ship captured earlier this week off Yemen's western coast. 

Local officials said weapons aboard the ship were destined for al-Houthi rebels, Zaidi Shi'ite followers³ of the late Malik al-Houthi who claim they are discriminated⁴ against in the majority-Sunni nation. 

The rebels and Iran deny any ties. 

As for the ship, Tehran first dismissed reports as a media lie. It now says the government charges are baseless.

In addition, Iran's PressTV broadcast reports accusing the Yemeni government of seeking outside help.

"A Yemeni official has reportedly met one of the top members of al-Qaida in Yemen," said the Iranian television presenter⁵. "The two sides reportedly agreed that Saanaa will provide al-Qaida forces with light weapons."

Yemen's government denies turning to al-Qaida in the fight against the rebels.

The conflict, which began in 2004 but picked up in earnest this August, brings together a trinity of regional problems - poverty, extremism and sectarian divides. Add to that the competing interests of rival regional powers, Sunni Saudi Arabia along Yemen's northern border and Shi'ite Iran, plus the spectre of international terrorism, and Yemen's problems gain a wider interest. 

U.S. officials worry that al-Qaida members, driven from Afghanistan, are trying to set up camp in Yemen, ancestral home to network leader Osama bin⁶ Laden⁷. 

Yemen Post newspaper editor Hakim al-Masmari says the relationship between the government and al-Qaida has been murky⁸ in the past. But he says it is not at all clear there is any current partnership⁹.

"Today, the government has no agreement with al-Qaida and their relationship is very fierce," said Hakim al-Masmari. "That is why over the last six months, over 100 al-Qaida members have been imprisoned¹⁰."

Al-Masmari says that relations among the rebels are not even straightforward¹¹. 

"They are people who are against the government due to certain issues, either because the government raided their houses during previous wars and that was the cause of family members being killed, so they are fighting along with the Houthi just to go against the government, not for love of Houthi himself," he said.

Perhaps the clearest issue in this conflict is its victims. Aid groups say as many as 150,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, many of them seeking refuge in remote camps near the Saudi border. 

1 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

2 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。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

5 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

8 murky   

adj.黑暗的，朦胧的；adv.阴暗地，混浊地；n.阴暗；昏暗

参考例句：

• She threw it into the river's murky depths.她把它扔进了混浊的河水深处。
• She had a decidedly murky past.她的历史背景令人捉摸不透。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

11 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。