VOA标准英语2009年-Clashes Between Houthi Rebels, Yemeni Gove

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and a Shi'ite rebel group in the north of the country appears to have intensified¹, with reports of casualties on both sides.
　
Image taken from video released by the office of rebel leader Abdel Malik al-Hawthi purports² to show a scene following aerial bombing in Haydan, Saada province, Yemen, 12 Aug 2009

Eyewitnesses³ say Yemeni government helicopters have been pounding shi'ite rebels in the northern town of Saada, causing dozens of casualties. Fighting between government forces and the Houthy rebels began several days ago, and appears to have intensified.

Al-Arabiya TV reported the rebels, who want to restore a Za'idi Shiite sultanate overthrown⁴ in 1962, have cut off a main highway in a bid to pressure the government.

The TV showed images of several government tanks that were allegedly destroyed by the rebels during fighting. Civilian⁷ casualties were reported at a market outside the provincial⁸ capital of Saada.

The Arab daily Asharqalawsat claims the "Yemeni government has intervened to protect its citizenry, by hitting the Houthy rebels with an iron fist." The paper added that the government offensive began "after a warning to the rebels to halt acts of sabotage⁹."

Other reports say that the government is demanding that the rebels release six Europeans that they allegedly hold, in addition to evacuating¹⁰ government buildings, and returning looted ammunition¹¹.

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris III, says the fighting between the Yemeni government and the Houthy rebels has been repeatedly flaring¹² up for the past 15 years.

He says that this is the sixth war in a long series between the Yemeni government and the Houthy rebels, which began in 1994. This new conflict has been in gestation¹³ for a while, now, he adds. The founder¹⁴ of the Houthy sect¹⁵, Badreddin Houthy, he notes, has tried to restore the old shi'ite sultanate and some suspect he was supported by countries like Iran, Qatar, or Libya.

Destabilization

The rebels, he says, are not just trying to destabilize Yemen, but also to send a message to Saudi Arabia, since it supports the government of President Ali Abdallah Saleh. He says Yemen is now in a serious phase of destabilization, with three different threats: one from the Houthy rebels, a second from separatists in the south, and third by an upsurge in al-Qaida activity.

Many news reports allege⁵ Iranian support for the Houthy rebels against the government of Ali Abdalleh Saleh. Prof. Ahmed Abdul-Karim Saif, who teaches at the University of Sana'a says that numerous geopolitical and economic factors are behind the conflict.

He says that Iran officially denies involvement in these events, but there are signs of involvement, such as the presence of the Iranian version of Shiism, a version that has traditionally not been present for the last 1400 years. So, he argues, it appears to be a proxy¹⁶ war between Iran and Saudi Arabia for leadership in the Arab world, along the lines of what is going on in Iraq and southern Lebanon .

The creation of a Hezbollah-like entity¹⁷ on the border with Saudi Arabia, he stresses, is not acceptable regionally, from a security standpoint, not to mention the other endemic problems which plague Yemen, including conflicts and occupation in the south, al-Qaida and the world economic crisis. All these problems weaken the central government, he says, and create an atmosphere for the rebels to try and secede¹⁸.

"Local phenomenon"

George Mason University Politics Professor Mark Katz says the Houthy rebellion is not a regional development but mostly a local phenomenon in which the Iranian aspect of the conflict has been exaggerated.

"I think that it is just really mainly local," he said. "Obviously, the rebels are shiites, but most of the Yemeni government leadership is also shi'ite, but they are not the same kind of Shi'ites as in Iran."

"The Yemenis are Zaidis; they follow the fifth, whereas the Iranians follow the twelfth Imam, and so the connections between these Houthies and Iran, I do not think, exist, and you can look at the Iranian-Yemeni relations: they are actually pretty good. In the Iranian press, you can also find criticism of the Iranian government for not doing more for the shi'ite opposition¹⁹ movement in Yemen. The Houthy rebellion is serious, but ... the dispute is quite personal between the Houthy leadership and President Saleh," he added.

The son of rebel leader Badreddin Houthy, Hussein, was killed during fighting with government forces in 2004, and relations between the rebels and President Ali Abdallah Saleh have been bitter, ever since.

Yemeni society is tribal²⁰, and conflicts between the government and various tribes are a traditional part of life in the country. The influx²¹ of outside forces, such as al Qaida, and alleged⁶ Iranian support for the Houthy rebellion, have created a number of deadly and paralyzing proxy wars inside the country, as well.

1 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》

2 purports   

v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She purports to represent the whole group. 她自称代表整个团体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The document purports to be official but is really private. 那份文件据称是官方的，但实际上是私人的。 来自辞典例句

3 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

4 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

5 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

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 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

9 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

10 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

11 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

12 flaring   

a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的

参考例句：

• A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。
• Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。

13 gestation   

n.怀孕；酝酿

参考例句：

• The gestation period can be anything between 95 and 150 days.妊娠期从95天至150天不等。
• This film was two years in gestation.这部电影酝酿了两年。

14 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

15 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

16 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。

17 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

18 secede   

v.退出，脱离

参考例句：

• They plotted to make the whole Mississippi Valley secede from the United States.他们阴谋策划使整个密西西比流域脱离美国。
• We won't allow Tibet to secede from China and become an independent nation.我们决不允许西藏脱离中国独立。

19 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

20 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

21 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。