2007年VOA标准英语-Reports: Coalition Formed Against Somalia's Tra

By Alisha Ryu
Mogadishu
08 June 2007

Reports in Somalia say that a coalition¹ of groups opposed to Somalia's struggling transitional government and its Ethiopian backers has been formed with the support of the Eritrean government.  VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Ethiopian troops patrol the street of Mogadishu, Somalia, 4 June 2007

VOA has learned that a yet-to-be-named, anti-Somali government, anti-Ethiopian coalition was formed in late May at a conference, hosted by the Eritrean government in the capital, Asmara.

According to reports on Somali Internet websites, the conference, dubbed² as a "unity³ meeting" by Eritrean President Isias Afewerki, brought together leaders and representatives of at least four groups - Somalia's Islamic Courts Union, rebels from Ethiopia's Ogaden National Liberation Front and the Oromo Liberation Front, and exiled former parliament members of the Somali transitional government.

The reports say the moderate leader of the Islamic Courts Union's executive council, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, represented the courts at the meeting and the Ogaden National Liberation Front sent its chief military commander, Mohamed Omar Osman.  The transitional government's former deputy prime minister turned critic, Hussein Aideed, is said to have also attended.

The details of the conference are not known and neither the Somali nor the Ethiopian government has commented yet about reports of the meeting. 

VOA sources in Mogadishu have confirmed reports that Sheik Ahmed has been named head of the coalition's political wing and Osman of the Ogaden National Liberation Front will lead its military wing.  The presumed objective of the coalition is to bring its common enemy, Ethiopia, to its knees politically and economically and to hasten Ethiopian troop withdrawal⁴ from Somalia.

Thousands of Ethiopian soldiers have been in Somalia for at least eight months, protecting Somalia's secular⁵ interim⁶ government.  With military aid from Ethiopia and U.S. support, the government drove out the Islamic Courts Union and took power in Mogadishu in early January. 

But a violent insurgency⁷, blamed mostly on radical⁸ Islamists and disgruntled Hawiye clan⁹ members, has kept the government from asserting full control over the capital.

Fighting between Ethiopian troops and insurgents¹⁰ in March and April killed nearly 1,500 people and caused hundreds of thousands to flee Mogadishu.

Since then, a series of Iraq-style attacks, targeting mostly Ethiopian troops and government officials, has prompted a severe, capital-wide security crackdown.

Ethiopian troops are now manning checkpoints at nearly every major intersection¹¹ and cars are not allowed to move in the city after 6 p.m. in the evening. 

Ethiopian and Somali security forces are conducting random¹² house-to-house searches for weapons and are making what many citizens say are arbitrary arrests. 

The government has also been widely criticized for closing down three independent radio stations, after authorities accused the stations of fomenting¹³ unrest, supporting terrorism, and being anti-government.

A leading civil activist¹⁴ in Mogadishu, Alisaid Omar, says heavy-handed actions by the government and Ethiopian troops are not helping¹⁵ the capital stabilize¹⁶.

"Shutting down these radios is like shutting down civil society as a whole, because we have no place to express our views, whether negative or positive," he said.  "I see this as a very bad signal and I think it will damage the reputation of the transitional federal government."

The news reports of a new coalition that seeks to undermine Ethiopia and the government it supports has many Somalis here even more concerned about the future.

1 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。

2 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

5 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

6 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。

7 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

8 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。

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 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

11 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

12 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

13 fomenting   

v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They accused him of fomenting political unrest. 他们指控他煽动政治动乱。
• Three sailors were fomenting a mutiny on the ship. 三个水手正在船上煽动叛变。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 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。