VOA标准英语2009年-Somalia's al-Shabab Names 3 UN Agencies 'E

Somalia's extremist insurgent¹ group, al-Shabab, says three U.N. agencies working with the country's U.N.-backed transitional government have been declared "enemies of Islam" and their operations in Somalia have been shut down.

A statement released by al-Shabab's Department of Political Affairs and Regional Administrations identified the banned U.N. agencies as the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Department of Safety and Security and the United Nations Political Office for Somalia.

Al-Shabab, which controls large portions of the country, said the three agencies are considered enemies because they are funding and supporting the government of Somali President Sharif Sheik Ahmed and the 4,300-member African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM.

The militant² group said it has also established an office to register and monitor all other non-governmental agencies and foreign agencies working in Somalia.

A spokeswoman for the United Nations Development Program, Rozanne Charlton, confirmed that al-Shabab has brought UNDP operations in the town of Baidoa in southwestern Somalia to a standstill.

"In Baidoa, U.N. equipment and vehicles were taken. The special problem that we have is that our emergency communications equipment has been removed," she said. "So, this together with the lack of security obviously, means we cannot continue to our operations for the moment. We are extremely regretful that we have to temporarily suspend our operations. But we hope it will be very short term," she said.

The leader of the Somali government, Sharif Sheik Ahmed, is an Islamist cleric, who once led the Islamic Courts Union before it was ousted³ by Ethiopian troops in late 2006. Al-Shabab, which functioned as the courts' militant wing before becoming an independent insurgent group, declared war on President Sharif after the Somali leader and his faction⁴ broke ranks with Islamist hard-liners and joined the government in January.
　
An al-Shabaab fighter in north Mogadishu following fighting the previous day which marked the first direct intervention⁵ of AU peacekeepers in support of Somali government forces, 13 Jul 2009

Since then, al-Shabab and another allied⁶ militant group called Hisbul Islam have been battling to topple the government in Mogadishu. But the insurgents⁷ have been unable to penetrate⁸ into key areas of the capital defended by AMISOM troops and tanks.

The head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has been one of the most vocal⁹ supporters of the Somali government. In an article published in the Washington Post newspaper Monday, the U.N. envoy¹⁰ said the conflict in Somalia is no longer a civil war, but what he described as "an externally funded attempt to overthrow¹¹ a legitimate¹², recognized government."

Oul-Abdallah said those fighting the government include individuals on the U.N. Security Council's list of al-Qaida and Taliban members backed by several hundred experienced fighters from other areas of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Since 2007, al-Shabab, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, has steadily¹³ gained territory in southern Somalia and now controls key towns such as Baidoa and Kismayo in the Lower Juba region.

The militant group, which adheres to the ultra-conservative Salafist/Wahabist tenet of Islam practiced by Osama bin¹⁴ Laden¹⁵ and the Taliban, has imposed strict Islamic laws in areas under their control and has carried out amputations and beheadings as punishment for various crimes.

Al-Shabab is currently holding two French government agents, who were kidnapped last Tuesday from their hotel rooms in Mogadishu while on a mission to train Somali troops. The militants¹⁶ said the two agents will be tried according to Islamic law on charges of spying and aiding an apostate¹⁷ government.

The French government has declined to comment on al-Shabab's threat against its employees. But Somalia's prime minister said on Sunday that all options, including a military option, are being considered to rescue the hostages.

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 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。

3 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

4 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

5 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。

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 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

8 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

9 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

10 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

11 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。

12 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

13 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 apostate   

n.背叛者，变节者

参考例句：

• He is an apostate from Christianity.他是一个基督教的背信者。
• The most furious anarchist become the most barefaced apostate.最激烈的无政府主义者，居然成了最露骨的变节者。