VOA标准英语2010年-WFP Ends Food Aid to 1 Million Somalis

The World Food Program is pulling its operations out of much of rebel-controlled Somalia, affecting some 1 million in-need Somalis. The food aid organization is citing "unacceptable demands" from the Islamist insurgent² group al-Shabab that reached a breaking point in the form of a January 1 rebel-issued ultimatum³.

The WFP says that nearly one-third of all those it planned to feed in the country will be affected⁴ by this move. The worst drought in nearly two decades and ongoing⁵ instability has left a significant portion of Somalis reliant on emergency relief for basic survival.

AP
Islamist al-Shabab fighters conduct military exercise in northern Mogadishu's Suqaholaha neighborhood, 01 Jan 2010

Ninety-five percent of the affected area is southern Somalia territory controlled by al-Shabab, the exception being the central Somali town of Beledweyne, held by Hizbul Islam, a rebel group loosely partnered with al-Shabab.

WFP spokesperson Peter Smerdon says that the situation for the organization in these rebel-held areas has been deteriorating⁶ for months.

"This disruption, this suspension of WFP's work in southern Somalia has been brought about by security threats and unreasonable⁷ pressure on our operations," he said.

At specific issue is a list of 11 rules issued by al-Shabab in November for all NGOs working in its territory, including a ban against women workers and a demand for $20,000 every six months as a security fee.

Smerdon says events only went downhill from there.

"Then later in November, al-Shabab demanded that WFP stop bringing food into their areas, that our contractors⁸ stop working with us, and that we remove what food stocks we have in their areas by January 1, 2010," he said.

The statement issued November 25 by the militant⁹ group said that the WFP's provision of food rations¹ had been "devastating¹⁰ to the agriculture industry in Somali and has greatly discouraged the Somali people from the agricultural trade." It dictated¹¹ that all WFP food supplies in the area be bought locally.

Not affected by the WFP move will be northern Somalia, most of central Somalia, and the capital city Mogadishu, where alone the aid group supplies 80,000 meals daily. The WFP will also continue operations in the so-called Afgooye Corridor, the most concentrated displaced camp in the world and home to over half a million IDPs.

The U.S. government, the WFP's biggest donor¹², has placed strict restrictions¹³ on its WFP Somali contributions amid fears that some of the aid was falling into the hands of al-Shabab, designated by the U.S. a terrorist organization and considered to have links to al-Qaida.

The WFP has described the restrictions as effectively "breaking" the food supply line. Smerdon denied that its suspension of southern Somalia operations was related at all to donor-expressed concerns, saying the action was purely¹⁴ a consequence of the unworkable situation created by the rebels.

Al-Shabab is waging an intense insurgency¹⁵ against the Western-backed Mogadishu government. The official administration is propped¹⁶ up by an African Union peacekeeping force known as AMISOM, which protects roughly ten blocks of the city encompassing¹⁷ the presidential palace as well as the air and sea ports.

The government has recently announced it is launching a new military offensive against the rebel groups, which control most of southern and some of central Somalia.

1 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

2 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。

3 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

7 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

8 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

11 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

13 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

14 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

15 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

16 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

17 encompassing   

v.围绕( encompass的现在分词 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• Being too large and all-encompassing is a common defect among state-owned enterprises. 过分追求大而全，是国企的一大通病。 来自互联网
• Our services are: all-encompassing, love justice and high quality. 我们的服务目标是：全方位、真情义、高质量。 来自互联网