2007年VOA标准英语-Popular Support Key to Security in Northern Ira

By Barry Newhouse
Irbil
10 May 2007

Wednesday's suicide truck bombing in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil was the city's first major bomb attack in two years. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Irbil on why residents believe the city has been relatively¹ untouched by the chaotic² violence that has gripped the rest of the country.

US soldiers shop for carpets at the downtown market in the center of Irbil, Iraq, 10 Nov 2005

Irbil is less than 100 kilometers from the violent cities of Kirkuk and Mosul - where insurgent³ militias⁴ launch raids and suicide bomb attacks almost every day.

If you ask residents why Irbil has been safe, when there is near constant fighting nearby, most people say the same thing: the public supports the security forces.

This man is a longtime Irbil resident who works in trading.

"All the people here when they see some strange things or strange people they try to ask them why they are here," he said. "If they [the people] make any problems they call the government and tell them there is some strange thing. That is very helpful for the peace here."

Irbil residents interviewed by VOA declined to give their names, saying they did not want to be identified when talking about the security measures following Wednesday's attack.

Security in Irbil has been tightened⁵ since the blast near the interior ministry⁶, with more police and military forces out in the streets and thorough inspections⁷ at the city's numerous traffic checkpoints.

This man in a downtown barbershop says residents also participate in maintaining security by occasionally acting⁸ as vigilantes.

He says many times people do that but they keep it secret and they don't tell anyone that they took action.

Khaled Salah is a spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government. He says Kurdish security forces have been improving their effectiveness and building trust among the local population since the region gained autonomy in 1992.

 

While Irbil is largely peaceful now, the city and much of the Kurdish-controlled north was a battleground for decades in fighting against Saddam Hussein's military. After the region gained autonomy in 1992, Kurdish factions⁹ then fought a brutal¹⁰ civil war.

A woman who works as a translator in Irbil says those wars provided experience for dealing¹¹ with Iraq's current conflict, but also made people weary of fighting.

"You know, we've been suffering a lot from these things from almost 35 years ago and we want to live our life just like other people - not killing¹² and bombing," she said.

As fighting continues in the rest of Iraq, more people from the south are moving to the Kurdish north to escape the violence.

Many of the new arrivals are Arabs and some are viewed with suspicion by locals who worry they will cause problems. Arabs who come here must have a trusted resident vouch¹³ for them, or they will be turned away at the city's checkpoints.

This resident of Irbil, who is member of Iraq's ethnic¹⁴ minority Turkmen population, says he believes the recent bomb attack was a message from Arab militants¹⁵ who are angry at the city's reputation as a safe harbor.

 

He says because many Arabs are leaving their towns in the south, this bomb was to tell the Arabs that also it is not safe here.

Wednesday's bomb attack targeted the heart of the Kurdish government's security branches -- just outside the interior ministry and the main offices of the Kurdish intelligence.

Officials say they suspect the bomber¹⁷ was from outside the Kurdistan region and was affiliated¹⁸ with the Sunni militant¹⁶ group Ansar al Islam.

But they also say that, as in the city's two previous major bomb attacks in 2004 and 2005, the bomber probably had help from Irbil residents - a rare betrayal in the otherwise unified¹⁹ city.

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

3 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。

4 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

5 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 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。

13 vouch   

v.担保；断定；n.被担保者

参考例句：

• They asked whether I was prepared to vouch for him.他们问我是否愿意为他作担保。
• I can vouch for the fact that he is a good worker.我保证他是好员工。

14 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

15 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。

16 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。

17 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

18 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

19 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。