VOA常速英语2007-Aid Agency in Somaliland Freezes Work

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
11 October 2007

One of the last foreign aid agencies working in the self-declared Somaliland region in East Africa has suspended operations because of tension between Somaliland and its neighbor, Puntland. As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, clashes between the two sides have killed several people in recent weeks.

The German aid agency German Agro Action says it has withdrawn¹ three of its foreign staffers from projects across Somaliland because of the rising tensions between the two sides over their disputed border.

In late September, clashes between Somaliland and Puntland over the town of Las Anod killed at least 10 people. People in Puntland have also reported that radio stations were broadcasting music that encouraged people to take up arms and fight.

Last week, Puntland claimed to have taken the town, and the clashes diminished. German Agro Action project director Peter Sass says clans² in the town have fought each other and sometimes play the two regions off of each other.

"There is a little bit in the area, how should I say, that maybe the people in Las Anod are always playing poker³, they look under which conditions they can live better, and so sometimes they like to stay to Somaliland and sometimes they like to be in Puntland," he said. "So they are playing their cards a little bit. But now it came to this point that there was a big movement from the Somaliland side to go there. Last year I was also here and it was not as much as it is now."

Somaliland claims Las Anod and the surrounding region based on borders from the colonial era, while Puntland claims the region because of the clans that live there.

Sass says German Agro Action will review the situation in the coming days and decide whether to return staff to the region. The agency does a range of work, including projects on food security, environment and health.

He says that the two sides are trying to negotiate a peace, and it is his belief that leaders in both regions understand that more skirmishes would only escalate⁴ tensions and could lead to a wider war.

"As far as I know, now they are sitting on the table and they try to find a solution for all that," he said. "But my personal feeling is that I think, I hope, that they will find a solution and they are taking the armies back. Because they must know somehow if there will be a clash it will be too big this time, so I think that they will find a solution."

Somaliland is a former British colony that declared independence from Somalia in 1991 soon after Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted⁵. In the years since, it has become far safer and economically more successful than Somalia, which remains⁶ in chaos⁷. Puntland, meanwhile, declared autonomy in 1998, but retains close ties to Somalia. It has struggled to match Somaliland's prosperity.

1 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

2 clans   

宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派

参考例句：

• There are many clans in European countries. 欧洲国家有很多党派。
• The women were the great power among the clans [gentes], as everywhere else. 妇女在克兰〈氏族〉里，乃至一般在任何地方，都有很大的势力。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源

3 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

4 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。

5 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。