VOA标准英语2010年-Al-Shabab Denies Threatening Attack ag

A spokesman for the Somali Islamist militant¹ group al-Shabab on Friday denied issuing a new threat against Kenya, saying that a recording² posted online is a fake.  Tensions in Kenya has increased.  Kenya is reported to have detained as many as 2000 people over the past several days in a crackdown against illegal immigrants, mostly Somalis.

The downloadable song opens with the sound of gunfire, followed by a voice singing in Swahili that the jihadists will enter the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The vocalist later claims that the militants³ will bomb and kill the Kenyan people, and finishes by declaring allegiance to al-Shabab's reclusive leader.

The audio was posted by a site administrator⁴ for an Islamic website which frequently puts up statements from the Islamist rebels. The administrator attributed the file to al-Shabab, saying it was recorded in response to the treatment given to a visiting radical⁵ cleric and those who protested for his release.

Sheikh Ali Muhamud Rage, the spokesperson for al-Shabab, told Reuters that the audio was "fake" and denied the issuing a new threat against Kenya.

A protest in Nairobi over the detention⁶ of Jamaican-born preacher Abdullah al-Faisal turned bloody⁷ on Friday after Kenyan riot police - joined by Kenyan civilians⁸ - attempted to beat back the Muslim protesters. At least four protesters were killed as police fired into the crowd after tear gas failed to disband the stone throwing youths.

Kenyan Internal Security Minister George Saitoti defended the police response, saying that al-Shabab sympathizers were among the rioters. Several of the protesters were waving black flags similar to that used by the Islamist group. One police officer received a bullet wound, allegedly fired by one of the Muslim youth.

Following the allegation, Rage praised the street protest outside a downtown mosque⁹, but denied that his group was at all involved in the demonstration¹⁰.

Police-backed Kenyan anti-terror units this week have rounded up hundreds of foreigners suspected of residing illegally inside the country. Most of those detained were Somali nationals, including several parliament members within the embattled Western-backed Mogadishu government.

A government spokesperson said 2,000 were caught in the cross-country raids, but the Kenyan police put the number at 1,200. Two hundred have been charged in court for not carrying the proper documents.

Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst¹¹ for the International Crisis Group, says that independently verifying the authenticity¹² of the online tape would be very difficult. But he thinks that the confusion over the ominous¹³ song is most likely a reflection of a power struggle within al-Shabab's leadership.

"The Somali nationalists within al-Shabab may have ambitions which are more local," said Abdi. "The foreign jihadists want to escalate¹⁴ this, they want to globalize this, and they want to basically start things up in Kenya."

Al-Shabab is widely believed to be responsible for the deadly December bombing of a graduation ceremony which sparked rare public demonstrations¹⁵ against the group in the capital city. Rage has denied that the insurgent¹⁶ group was responsible for the attack.

The Somali rebels have previously¹⁷ issued warnings against Kenya, as well as Burundi and Uganda, for supporting the Mogadishu government. These threats have not yet been carried out.

Kenyan authorities told a court on Thursday that Faisal - who was convicted in Britain of hate speech against non-Muslims - had been deported¹⁸. But the immigration minister later denied this report, putting the status of the controversial cleric in question once more.

1 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。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

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 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

5 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

6 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

7 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。

8 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。

9 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

10 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。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

13 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

14 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

15 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

16 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。

17 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

18 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》