VOA常速英语2007-Tensions Between Somaliland, Puntland Heat Up

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
15 October 2007

Officials in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in Somalia are warning that a full-scale war could break out within days between Puntland and its neighboring breakaway republic of Somaliland. The warning follows renewed clashes in the contested Sool region in the north of the country. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

A senior political adviser¹ to Puntland's President Mohamed Adde Muse² tells VOA that thousands of Somaliland troops entered the disputed town of Las Anod in Sool Monday morning and are now battling Puntland troops in the area.

But the adviser, Abdi Abdul Shakur Mire³, says reports that Somaliland troops have captured the town are false.

"Our troops is controlling Las Anod, the capital of Sool, but clash is still going on. Somaliland troops are more than 8,000 to 10,000. Our troops is another 10,000," he said.

Residents in Las Anod reported earlier that Somaliland troops had captured the village and took 100 Puntland prisoners captive. Ten people are said to have died in Monday's fighting.

VOA has not been able to independently verify any of the claims.

Las Anod and its surrounding area has been the site of several major skirmishes in recent weeks. Each time, authorities in Puntland and Somaliland have offered conflicting reports about what really took place.

In mid-September, residents of a village near Las Anod said they witnessed an artillery⁴ exchange between Puntland and Somaliland troops. Puntland accused Somaliland troops of initiating⁵ the fight. But a spokesman for the Somaliland government denied that any of the government's troops were involved.

On October 2, Somaliland officials claimed that their troops had captured Las Anod, after a fierce firefight with Puntland troops. Puntland officials dismissed the claim as pure fabrication.

Puntland's presidential adviser, Abdi Abdul Shakur Mire, says the situation now is extremely serious. He warns that hostilities⁶ could escalate⁷ into a full-scale war.

"Big problem between Somaliland and Puntland. Maybe after three days, it will become a big battle [for] Sool region and Sanag region," said Mire.

The dispute over the regions of Sool and Sanag in northern Somalia began in 1998, when Puntland formed and declared the regions as sovereign territory based on the ethnic⁸ make-up of the region's inhabitants and their clan⁹ ties to Puntland.

Somaliland claims Sool and Sanag because the regions fall geographically¹⁰ within the borders of pre-independence British Somaliland. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but is not internationally recognized.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

3 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

6 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

7 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。

8 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。

9 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

10 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分