VOA标准英语2009-Ogaden Rebels say 626 Ethiopian Troops Kille

By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
16 November 2009

A rebel group in Ethiopia's restive¹ Ogaden region says it has killed 626 government troops in heavy fighting near the border with neighboring Somalia. The government has dismissed the claim as 'a complete fabrication'.

A communiqué sent to news agencies by e-mail says a multi-front offensive launched by the Ogaden National Liberation Front November 10th is still in progress. The communiqué, believed to be sent from ONLF offices in Europe, says 626 Ethiopian troops have died, and the statement says the battlefields are littered with bodies of soldiers.

It describes ONLF casualties as 'minimal²', but gives no details.

An rebel communiqué issued Friday said the rebels had captured seven towns along the border with Somalia.

The reports could not be independently verified. Journalists are not permitted into the region. But Ethiopian government spokesman Shimelis Kemal called the ONLF claims completely false. In a telephone interview, he described the communiqués as a desperate measure used occasionally by the rebels to portray³ the region as being in turmoil⁴.

"This group used to make exaggerated claims," said Shimelis Kemal. "This is the usual lie, deliberately⁵ fabricated by this terrorist group."

Shimelis denied any government troops had been killed, and said the current fighting is between the rebels and local militia⁶ groups.

"The rebels were expelled and defeated by the local militia," said Shimelis. "The army was not involved there."

Ethiopia calls the rebels 'terrorists' backed by neighboring rival Eritrea, and with ties to the Somali insurgent⁷ group al-Shabab. Eritrea and the ONLF both deny the links, and there is no independent verification of the charges.

Government troops launched a fierce offensive against the ONLF in early 2007 after the rebels attacked a Chinese owned oil exploration field in Ethiopia's Ebole district, killing⁸ 74 people.

The ONLF accused the troops of conducting a 'scorched⁹ earth' campaign, a claim that was strongly denied by the government.

The United Nations twice requested access to the region to conduct independent human rights assessments¹⁰. Ethiopia refused the requests.

Government spokesman Shimelis said that 2007 offensive effectively ended the ONLF's military capability¹¹.

"Since the Ebole incident, the ONLF bandit group is on the run," he said. "Recently however, they have tried to raid some administrations in the localities, and that attempt had been effectively defeated by the local militia."

Ethiopia has recently attempted to assure oil companies the ONLF no longer has the ability to threaten exploration and production in the Ogaden region. But Ethiopia's mines and energy minister was quoted this week as saying no petroleum¹² reserves had been found in the country despite years of search.

The ONLF has been fighting for greater autonomy or independence for the Ogaden since Ethiopia seized the mostly Somali speaking region in a war with Somalia more than 30 years ago. 

1 restive   

adj.不安宁的，不安静的

参考例句：

• The government has done nothing to ease restrictions and manufacturers are growing restive.政府未采取任何措施放松出口限制,因此国内制造商变得焦虑不安。
• The audience grew restive.观众变得不耐烦了。

2 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

3 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

4 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。

5 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 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。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

10 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

11 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

12 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。