2006年VOA标准英语-IGAD Urges International Community Not to

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
17 May 2006
 
The international community was urged not to support factions¹ outside of the Somali government by a top official in the seven-nation regional grouping Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and Kenya's foreign affairs minister Wednesday. The officials also appealed for humanitarian² assistance for war-torn Mogadishu.

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Gunmen walk through crowd of people as they protect visiting members of Somali parliament in Mogadishu (file photo)
  

The comment by IGAD executive secretary Attalla Hamad Bashir and Minister of Foreign Affairs Raphael Tuju is a veiled reference to the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, a militia³ that has been battling in recent days with the Islamic Court Union in the Somali capital.

It is widely believed that the United States is backing the counter-terrorism alliance, a charge the U.S. government does not address directly.

Following a courtesy call by Bashir to the Kenyan minister Wednesday, the two urged foreign countries to work with Somalia's transitional government and not with factions or militias⁴ operating outside the government.

A joint⁵ statement said countries should not resort to what it called "unilateral actions" that contradict positions held by the United Nations, the African Union, and others.

"An uncoordinated intervention⁶ in Somalia will result in the warlords running rings around all of us and is an approach that is bound to fail besides compounding the problem and increasing conflict that has resulted in the death of so many," Foreign Minister Tuju explained.  "It was also agreed that, as an international community, we should resolve the problem in Somalia using one voice and not send discordant⁷ messages to various factions on the ground."

Fighting broke out last week between the anti-terrorism alliance and the Islamic Court Union reportedly after an assassination⁸ attempt was made on one of the counter-terrorism alliance's leaders.

Some 150 were killed and hundreds injured in the conflict, prompting hundreds of Somalis to take to the streets Wednesday to call for peace. Bashir and Tuju appealed for humanitarian aid to help those affected⁹ by the fighting.

Media reports describe the anti-terrorist alliance, formed three months ago, as being a coalition¹⁰ of warlords who aim to stem what they feel is growing Islamic extremism in Somalia. The Islamic courts are said to want to maintain law and order in the volatile¹¹ capital.

The United States has not directly said whether or not it is supporting the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack recently told reporters that the United States is "working with individual members of the transitional government to try to create a better situation in Somalia."

The United States has long been concerned that chaotic¹² Somalia could become a haven¹³ for international terrorists.

There have been more than a dozen attempts to form a central government in Somalia ever since civil war broke out in 1991. Since then, warlords and their militias have battled with each other and civilians¹⁴ to control different parts of the country.

A transitional Somali parliament was formed in Kenya more than a year ago following a two-year peace process, and recently met for the first time in Somalia.

1 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

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

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 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

7 discordant   

adj.不调和的

参考例句：

• Leonato thought they would make a discordant pair.里奥那托认为他们不适宜作夫妻。
• For when we are deeply mournful discordant above all others is the voice of mirth.因为当我们极度悲伤的时候，欢乐的声音会比其他一切声音都更显得不谐调。

8 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

9 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。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

12 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。

13 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

14 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。