VOA标准英语2009年-More Than 20 Killed in Fighting in Somali

Islamist militants¹ in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, launched a pre-dawn raid on African Union peacekeepers Friday, triggering fierce fighting that killed more than 20 people. Meanwhile, government-led military efforts to take control of insurgent-held towns in the country's central and southwestern regions have reportedly suffered setbacks.
　
Dead bodies lay near a street in southern Mogadishu's K4 junction², 21 Aug 2009

As Somalis prepare to observe the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, al-Shabab and Hisbul Islam rebels appeared to have made good on their vow³ to mark the start of Ramadan with intensified⁴ attacks against the government and the African Union mission in Mogadishu known as AMISOM.

Residents in Mogadishu say hundreds of Islamist insurgents⁵, led by al-Shabab, fired weapons and mortars⁶ at an African Union base in the south of the city. AU peacekeepers and government troops fought back with tank fire and mortars, sending residents diving for cover in their homes and in the streets. The fighting quickly spread to several districts in south Mogadishu.

Al-Shabab is an al-Qaida-linked extremist group that controls vast areas of southern Somalia. It is on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, and on Friday, Australia put the group on its terrorism list following the discovery of a suicide attack plot linked to the group.
　
Hardline Islamists take position on a street in southern Mogadishu (File)

For nearly two years, al-Shabab spearheaded efforts to expel Ethiopian troops from Somalia. Since Ethiopia's withdrawal⁷ in January, al-Shabab began cooperating with another Islamist group called Hisbul Islam to topple the U.N.-backed, but weak transitional federal government, and to force more than 5,000 AU peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi to abandon their mission. Hundreds of foreign extremists are also believed to be taking part in the fighting.

Recently, AMISOM has begun taking a more active role in the conflict, patrolling far beyond their bases, and at one point, fighting alongside government forces.

On Thursday, Hisbul Islam spokesman Muse⁸ Abdi Arale said militants had repelled⁹ an alleged¹⁰ AMISOM incursion deep into a rebel-held area.

Arale says AMISOM troops turned around and returned to their bases.

AMISOM denied the claim, saying it had a routine patrol.

Meanwhile, more clashes have been reported in the central Hiran region, where government forces are reported to have suffered setbacks in recent days.

At least 15 people were killed and 19 wounded Thursday during heavy fighting that began after government troops attempted to seize the town of Bula Burte from al-Shabab. Witnesses there say al-Shabab fought off the offensive, but Bula Burte remains¹¹ tense.

Separately, Islamist rebels re-took control of the western part of the strategic town of Beledweyne from government troops. Hisbul Islam left western Beledweyne, near Somalia's border with Ethiopia, late last month without a fight. But the group said it had only made a tactical retreat and had vowed¹² to take it back.

The government was embarrassed recently when Somali soldiers in Beledweyne held a violent demonstration¹³ demanding to be paid. It is not clear if the incident is in any way related to the government losing control of Beledweyne. But residents say hundreds of Ethiopian troops have poured into the eastern part of town to set up military bases.

There has been no comment from the Somali government about the alleged arrival of Ethiopian troops. Ethiopia has denied persistent¹⁴ reports that Ethiopian troops are actively¹⁵ engaged in Somalia's civil war.

On Thursday, government and pro-government forces suffered similar losses in Somalia's southwestern Gedo region. Hisbul Islam re-took the town of Luq from government troops, and al-Shabab re-captured a town it lost to an armed pro-government religious group called Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama'a two days ago.

Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama'a is a Sufi Muslim group that took up arms against al-Shabab last year. But Somalis say some of its members are believed to be Somali factional leaders with close ties to Ethiopia.

　

 

1 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。

2 junction   

n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站

参考例句：

• There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
• You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

3 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

4 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》

5 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

6 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

7 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

8 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

9 repelled   

v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• They repelled the enemy. 他们击退了敌军。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm. 而丁梅斯代尔牧师却哆里哆嗦地断然推开了那老人的胳臂。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

10 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

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

13 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

14 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

15 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。