VOA标准英语2009年-Somali Government Claims Al-Shabab Execute

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
29 September 2009

Somalia's U.N.-backed transitional government has condemned¹ the execution of two men Monday by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants³ and says al-Shabab murdered innocent civilians⁴. 

Somali government spokesman Farhan Asanyo says the two Somali men executed by a firing squad⁵ in the capital Mogadishu had no ties to the government or to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, as al-Shabab alleged⁶.

Asanyo says the men were innocent Somalis falsely accused and murdered by al-Shabab militants. The spokesman charged that al-Shabab often targets people without evidence of any wrongdoing.

The executions were carried in front of hundreds of spectators after an al-Shabab-run court found one man guilty of working as spy for the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia and the other of providing intelligence to the CIA.

Al-Shabab officials said the pair admitted their crimes before being sentenced to death. 

Al-Shabab is the most powerful of several Islamist insurgent⁷ groups attempting to overthrow⁸ Somalia's transitional federal government and force the withdrawal⁹ of 5,000 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers from Mogadishu. 

The militant² group, listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and Australia, is considered to be a proxy¹⁰ group for al-Qaida. 

Two weeks ago, one of al-Qaida's top operatives in the region, Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, was reportedly killed in a U.S. Special Forces operation in southern Somalia. U.S. counter-terrorism officials believe Nabhan was also a senior al-Shabab official, who provided a link between the Somali group and the al-Qaida leadership based in Pakistan.

An al-Shabab representative in the Banadir region, which includes Mogadishu, told reporters that the man executed for spying for the CIA was thought to be responsible for the information that led to the death of Nabhan.

Days after the U.S. raid, twin suicide car bombings rocked the African Union base in Mogadishu, killing¹¹ more than 20 people. Al-Shabab said it carried out the attack in retaliation¹² for the American military strike on its members. 

The al-Shabab-led insurgency¹³ began after Ethiopian troops, with U.S. support, militarily intervened in Somalia in 2006 to oust¹⁴ the Islamic Courts Union from power and install the transitional government in Mogadishu. 

Early this year, Ethiopia withdrew its troops from Somalia and the government elected a new Islamist president. But al-Shabab and other insurgent groups have rejected the government as a western puppet. The focus of the insurgents¹⁵ has now shifted to African Union peacekeeping troops, whom the government is dependent on to keep from being toppled. 

A combination of violence and a prolonged drought has left three million people, half of Somalia's population, in need of food aid and millions more displaced.

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

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 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。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

6 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

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 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。

9 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。

10 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

11 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。

12 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

15 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