VOA标准英语2009年-Fighting Eases in Somalia Capital

Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, is reportedly calm one day after African Union peacekeepers were seen fighting al-Shabab-led insurgents² in the north of the city. The incident has raised questions about whether the peacekeepers exceeded their mandate³, which limits them to defending themselves and key sites from insurgent¹ attacks.
　
An al-Shabaab fighter in north Mogadishu following fighting the previous day which marked the first direct intervention⁴ of AU peacekeepers in support of Somali government forces, 13 Jul 2009

Sunday's fighting was reportedly precipitated⁵ by al-Shabab militants⁷, who were spotted⁸ assembling one kilometer outside of Villa⁹ Somalia, the residence of the leader of Somalia's U.N.-backed transitional government, Sharif Sheik Ahmed.

A Somali government official told local reporters that peacekeepers from the African Union mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, backed up government troops in defending the presidential palace.

But several people in Mogadishu interviewed by VOA say African Union peacekeepers in armored vehicles left their bases Sunday in the southern area of the capital and advanced into northern Mogadishu. There, they battled insurgents in what eyewitnesses¹⁰ describe as some of the worst street fighting in the capital in recent days.

The Somali reports contradict AMISOM's insistence¹¹ it did not engage in any combat with insurgents. Under their mandate, the 4,300 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi have the right to use force to defend themselves and key sites, which include Villa Somalia, and the city's main seaport¹² and airport in the southern part of Mogadishu.

Since arriving in Mogadishu more than two years ago in support of an unpopular, Ethiopian-backed transitional government, AMISOM has been careful to remain neutral in the insurgency¹³, which has killed thousands of people and have left nearly 1.5 million homeless.

But the U.N.-sponsored peace process that brought Somalia's Islamist President Sharif to power in January intensified¹⁴ the insurgency, drawing hundreds of foreign fighters to Somalia to back al-Shabab, a militant⁶ group with links to al-Qaida.

Somalia's neighbors and the West fear Somalia could become a regional haven¹⁵ for terrorists. On Friday, six Horn of Africa countries making up the Intergovernmental Authority on Development pleaded for urgent international help in Somalia and a review of the current AMISOM mandate, arguing that the conflict in Somalia had changed from a civil war to an invasion by religious extremists.

Al-Shabab's main spokesman, Ali Mohamed Rage, accused AMISOM troops of breaking their neutrality and becoming combatants in the conflict.

AMISOM's Ugandan spokesman in Mogadishu, Bariyge Ba-Hoku, did not say why the peacekeepers were deployed¹⁶ Sunday nearly eight kilometers north of Villa Somalia. But he says AMISOM has the right to be anywhere they are needed.

"We are not just peacekeepers at the seaport, airport, and Villa Somalia. We are supposed to be in the whole country. And so, anywhere where we think there is danger, anywhere we think we can assist, we will do that," Ba-Hoku said.

Mogadishu residents say AMISOM troops have returned to their bases, but not before forcing al-Shabab militants to abandon several neighborhoods they had captured in previous weeks of fighting.

1 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。

2 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

3 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 precipitated   

v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀

参考例句：

• His resignation precipitated a leadership crisis. 他的辞职立即引发了领导层的危机。
• He lost his footing and was precipitated to the ground. 他失足摔倒在地上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

7 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。

8 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

9 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

10 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

11 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

12 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。

13 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

14 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

16 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。