VOA标准英语2009年-Somali Insurgent Group Now Said to be Hold

Somalia's transitional government has called for the unconditional¹ release of two French military advisors² kidnapped Tuesday in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Both men are now believed to be held captive by an Islamist extremist group with ties to al-Qaida.
　
Al-Shabab militiamen fire on Somali government troops in the streets of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, 22 May 2009

VOA has learned that a second French hostage has been handed over to Somalia's al-Shabab insurgents⁴, a day after al-Shabab's ally, Hisbul Islam, was accused by the Somali government of holding the men.

Hisbul Islam has neither confirmed nor denied taking part in the kidnapping of the two French men. But there were widespread reports Wednesday that tensions were escalating⁵ between Hisbul Islam and al-Shabab over who would take control of the hostages.

Al-Shabab is an allied⁶ extremist group with ties to al-Qaida. Its fighters control a large area of southern Somalia and have a record of killing⁷ anyone accused of being a spy or a Christian⁸.

According to Somali sources and a senior government official speaking on the condition of anonymity⁹, the French hostages were taken Tuesday to a Mogadishu safe-house guarded by Hisbul Islam. Al-Shabab threatened to declare war on Hisbul Islam unless the group handed over the men.

The sources say Hisbul Islam gave one of the hostages to al-Shabab on Thursday to avoid starting a bloody¹⁰ battle between the two allies. It is not known what circumstances caused Hisbul Islam to hand over the second hostage.

Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke had earlier called for the unconditional release of the hostages, saying there is no religion that condones¹¹ the kidnapping of innocent people.

The prime minister said Hisbul Islam should return the men unconditionally¹² if the group does not want to damage its religious and political reputation in Somalia.

Hisbul Islam is a coalition¹³ of militant¹⁴ Islamist-nationalist groups formed in February to oppose the government. Since then, al-Shabab and Hisbul Islam have fought side-by-side in efforts to overthrow¹⁵ the U.N.-backed government of Islamist President Sharif Sheik Ahmed.

The fighting between government forces and insurgents has killed and wounded hundreds of people and has uprooted¹⁶ more than 200,000 people from the capital. But the two insurgent³ groups have differing agendas and the alliance has long been viewed as one of opportunism rather than shared ideals and goals.

About a month ago, the leader of Hisbul Islam, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, angered al-Shabab by announcing that his group had decided¹⁷ to participate in peace talks with the government. It is unclear how the current hostage drama will affect those talks, if there have been any talks at all.

On Tuesday, nearly a dozen gunmen dressed in government uniforms kidnapped the two French nationals from the Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu, where they had been staying for more than a week reportedly posing as journalists.

The French Foreign Ministry¹⁸ said the men were on an official mission to provide assistance to the Somali government. French newspapers have reported that the men are French intelligence agents sent to Mogadishu to train their Somali counterparts.

It is still not known who carried out the abduction and whether they were hired to kidnap the men or had intended to keep the men for ransom¹⁹.

Some initial reports alleged²⁰ the gunmen were clan²¹ militiamen with ties to Somalia's Interior Minister Abdulkadir Ali Omar. It is believed that the pick-up truck used in the kidnapping belonged to the interior minister. The Somali official has denied any involvement.

1 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

2 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 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

5 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

6 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

7 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。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

10 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

11 condones   

v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A morality that condones such bloodshed is totally unacceptalbe to me. 宽恕这种杀戮的道德是我完全不能接受的。 来自辞典例句
• When government condones evil, he insists, "the true place for a just man is a prison." 他坚持认为，当政府宽容罪恶时，“正直人的真正去处是监狱”。 来自哲学部分

12 unconditionally   

adv.无条件地

参考例句：

• All foreign troops must be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally. 所有外国军队必须立即无条件地撤出。
• It makes things very awkward to have your girls going back unconditionally just now! 你们现在是无条件上工，真糟糕！ 来自子夜部分

13 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

14 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。

15 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。

16 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 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。

19 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

20 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

21 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。