VOA常速英语2007-Somalia Forces Detain WFP Official

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
17 October 2007

The World Food Program (WFP) says Somali security forces have stormed the U.N. compound in the capital Mogadishu and arrested the WFP local director.  As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, the World Food Program has now suspended food distribution in Mogadishu and is looking for answers.

Reports from Mogadishu indicate that the raid was conducted during heavy fighting in the Somali capital between police and Islamic insurgents¹. At least eight civilians² and a policeman were reported killed in the fighting.

The World Food Program says dozens of armed men in uniforms raided the group's compound and took the local director, Idris Osman, to the National Security Forces headquarters.  No shots were fired.  WFP spokesman Peter Smerdon says the raid and the arrest were a complete surprise.

"He was arrested by the Somali National Security Service after 50-60 heavily armed and uniformed members stormed the U.N. compound in Mogadishu, and he was taken to NSF headquarters near the presidential palace," he said.  "In light of Mr. Osman's detention³ and in view of our duty to safeguard our own staff, we were forced to immediately suspend food distribution within Mogadishu and the loading of WFP food from our warehouses⁴ within Mogadishu."

The World Food Program began distributing food in Mogadishu a few days ago, after suspending operations in June.  It had worked out a plan to reach 75,000 people by supplying food through more than 40 mosques⁵ in the capital.

Smerdon refused to say if he believes the deal with the mosques had anything to do with the arrest.

Senior Somali officials have denied any involvement in the raid and have claimed that Osman's arrest was the result of insecurity in Mogadishu.  They have suggested that Islamic militants⁶ are to blame. 

Somalia has been in chaos⁷ since dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was ousted⁸ in a 1991 coup⁹.  The situation stabilized¹⁰ briefly¹¹ after a loose coalition¹² of Islamic groups, the Islamic Courts Union, seized control of large parts of the country last year.

But Somalia has seen renewed fighting since Ethiopian forces entered the country late last year, routing the Islamic Courts Union and bolstering¹³ the transitional Somali federal government.

Islamic fighters remain and continue to attack Ethiopian troops and forces of the interim¹⁴ government. 

A senior presidential adviser¹⁵, Abdirazak Adam Hassan, has said that Osman was already freed.

"I understand that he has been released and he is a free man," he said.  "You know, our situation is very much volatile¹⁶, and insecurity is rampant¹⁷ everywhere, but in any case happy news is that he is free and this kind of kidnapping has been occurring in Somalia for the last 17 years, because of the lawlessness and general insecurity that has been prevailing¹⁸."

But WFP spokesman Smerdon says he has received no word on Osman's release.  He says Osman's detention was not a kidnapping, and argues that the incident violates international law.

1 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

4 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

5 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

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。

8 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。

9 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

10 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

12 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。

13 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

18 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。