2006年VOA标准英语-Somalia PM Denies Reports of Ethiopian Troops i

By Alisha Ryu
Baidoa, Somalia
02 July 2006

Somalia's interim¹ prime minister has categorically denied reports that Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia, or the town of Baidoa, where the country's fledgling government is based. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu is in Baidoa and reports that this is the second time in the past two weeks tensions in the Horn of Africa have escalated² over unconfirmed reports that Ethiopian troops have crossed over into Somalia.

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Members of the Islamic Courts Union sit on the back of a jeep mounted with a recoilless³ rifle   
  
Residents here received a flood of phone calls Sunday morning from anxious friends and family in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, asking if Ethiopian troops had really arrived in Baidoa.

Residents in both cities say they have heard media reports that at least six large Ethiopian military trucks, carrying troops, entered Baidoa late Saturday night.

Somalia's interim prime minister, Ali Mohammed Gedi, told VOA, the reports are not true.

"There are no foreign troops in Somalia, and in Baidoa, as well," said Ali Mohammed Gedi. "There are no Ethiopian troops in Somalia and Baidoa. These rumors⁴ are originating from opportunists, who are trying to create a clash between Somalia and our neighbors."

Two weeks ago, the Islamist leadership that has taken control of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, accused Ethiopia of sending several hundred troops into Somalia in order to prop⁵ up the internationally recognized, but weak interim government. Militias⁶ loyal to the Islamist leaders in Mogadishu now control a large area of southern Somalia.

Ethiopia has denied it has crossed the border into Somalia, saying it has deployed⁷ troops, but only along the border to defend against what Ethiopia calls provocative⁸ actions by the Islamists in Mogadishu.

After capturing the capital early last month, hard-liners within the Islamic courts recently consolidated⁹ power over the moderates, and named Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys to head their legislative¹⁰ arm.

Under Aweys, whom the United States has linked to al-Qaida, the courts reorganized into a governing structure and renamed itself as the Supreme¹¹ Islamic Council of Somalia. Aweys then stated that his group would extend its control over the entire country, including the breakaway regions of Somaliland and Puntland, and would govern through strict Islamic laws.

The largely Christian¹² Ethiopia firmly opposes the creation of a hard-line Islamist state in Somalia, and has been pressing for the deployment¹³ of its troops in Somalia as part of an African Union-backed peacekeeping force. It has also reserved the right to act in self-defense.

Ethiopia and Somalia share a bitter history, and many Somalis, especially in Mogadishu, say they will not tolerate Ethiopian troops in their country.

But Somali supporters of the interim government here in Baidoa say they believe Ethiopia may be the only regional force strong enough to curb¹⁴ the Islamists' plans for territorial¹⁵ expansion, and they would welcome an Ethiopian intervention¹⁶.

African Union leaders meeting in The Gambia want a United Nations arms embargo¹⁷ on Somalia to be lifted, so that East African troops from Uganda and Sudan can be deployed here as soon as possible to stabilize¹⁸ the country.

But African Union and western diplomats¹⁹ say the only country that has shown any willingness to go into Somalia is Ethiopia.

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

3 recoilless   

adj.无后座力的

参考例句：

• Airborne infantry now obtains Recoilless Rifles at 100 Mun instead of 125. 空降连空降兵无坐力炮升级由125弹药降低到100弹药。
• Recoilless fractions of simple cubic monatomic nanocrystalline particles are calculated by using displacement displacement Green's function. 应用位移位移格林函数计算了简立方单原子纳米晶体颗粒的无反冲分数。

4 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

6 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

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

9 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

10 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

14 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

15 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

16 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。

17 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

18 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

19 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》