2007年VOA标准英语-Somali Clan Opposes Disarmament Plan

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
12 March 2007

An old Somali man, holds his gun in Bakhara market in Mogadishu to defend his family from looters (File photo)

In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, elders of the locally-dominant¹ Hawiye clan² tell VOA that the interim³ government's plan to disarm⁴ civilians⁵ there by force will only ignite clan warfare⁶ and bring more instability. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has more from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

Struggling to assert control in the violence-wracked capital, the Somali transitional government announced on Sunday that its troops will soon begin conducting a massive, house-to-house search for weapons throughout Mogadishu.

Deputy Defense⁷ Minister Salad Ali Jelle says it is the intention of the government to disarm all civilians and bring security to the capital within 30 days.

In a telephone interview with VOA, the leaders of the dominant Hawiye clan in Mogadishu voiced strong objections to the disarmament plan.

Clan elder Abdulkadir Haji Muse⁸ says the biggest concern is who will be doing the disarming⁹. He says most of the interim government troops patrolling the city are not from Mogadishu, but from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. Moreover, the soldiers are members of Hawiye clan's chief rival, the Darod.

Puntland is the home of interim President Abdullahi Yusuf, who is a Darod. Muse says a move to disarm Mogadishu residents by force would be viewed by many people not as an effort by President Yusuf to bring security, but a move to marginalize and disenfranchise the Hawiye.

The clan elder says he and many others are convinced that the disarmament plan is a Darod attempt to politically and militarily weaken the Hawiye. Muse says his clan, which dominated the ousted¹⁰ Islamic Courts Union, will never accept government orders to disarm.

Somalia's multi-clan, U.N.-backed interim government tried to disarm civilians in Mogadishu two months ago, but postponed¹¹ the process after hundreds of angry people rioted in the city.

Government officials say they will not back down this time because disarmament is the only way African peacekeepers can safely take control of the city's security.

The peacekeepers are to replace thousands of Ethiopian troops, whose military support of the interim government was crucial in driving out the Islamists in late December.

But many Somalis in the city view the Ethiopians as an invading force and the government they are protecting has been unable to gain popular support. Since January, both government and Ethiopian troops have come under near-daily attack from insurgents¹², who are believed to be radical¹³ Islamists, operating in cooperation with some disgruntled Hawiye factional militias¹⁴.

About 1,000 troops from Uganda are already in Mogadishu as the vanguard of a planned eight-thousand member African Union peacekeeping mission to Somalia.

But another Hawiye clan leader, Khalid Hussein Abdi, tells VOA that their presence is not welcome.

Abdi says he believes the peacekeepers will do nothing but support militias from Puntland and Darod clan members, who are planning to subjugate¹⁵ the Hawiye.

 

Violence against the Ugandan peacekeepers began as soon as they arrived in Mogadishu last Tuesday, when they were greeted with a mortar¹⁶ barrage¹⁷ near the airport. The following day, insurgents ambushed¹⁸ a convoy¹⁹ of peacekeepers and on Friday, a cargo²⁰ plane, carrying equipment and several Ugandan soldiers, landed at the Mogadishu airport in flames.

The Ugandan military said the plane had experienced mechanical problems and caught fire. But VOA has learned from reliable sources that the plane was hit by at least one rocket-propelled grenade fired from the ground.

1 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

2 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。

3 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。

4 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

5 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。

6 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 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。

9 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

12 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

13 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

14 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

15 subjugate   

v.征服；抑制

参考例句：

• Imperialism has not been able to subjugate China.帝国主义不能征服中国。
• After having been subjugated to ambition,your maternal instincts are at last starting to assert themselves.你那被雄心壮志压制已久的母性本能终于开始展现出来。

16 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

17 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

18 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

20 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。