VOA标准英语2008年-Western Journalists Kidnapped Outside Mogadishu

Two western journalists reported missing in the Somali capital Mogadishu are believed to have been kidnapped by militiamen. As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, the journalists, along with a local interpreter and driver, were abducted¹ on Saturday.

Media reports have identified the two missing journalists as Canadian freelance reporter Amanda Lindhout and Australian freelance photojournalist Nigel Brennan.

The pair had arrived in Mogadishu four days ago to report on the humanitarian² crisis affecting millions of Somalis. According to Somalia's Shabelle Radio senior journalist Abdinassir Mohamed Guled, the journalists, accompanied by an interpreter and driver, traveled about 20 kilometers south to the town of Afgoye to visit camps housing hundreds of thousands of displaced Somalis.

"The journalists were reported to have been returning from the Afgoye IDP [internally displaced people] area, and men with firearms ordered the journalists to leave with them," said Guled.

Nobody has claimed responsibility, but reliable sources in Mogadishu tell VOA that the men who kidnapped the journalists appeared to have known the journalists' itinerary³ and followed them closely before ambushing⁴ their vehicle on the road Saturday morning.

The National Union of Somali Journalists reports that it received information early Sunday indicating that the four hostages may have been taken to the northeastern neighborhood of Suqa Holaha in Mogadishu.

Somalia has been torn apart by war since 1991, and is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. Since 2005, nearly a dozen of them have been killed in Somalia, including two western journalists killed by fighters loyal to a militant⁵ al-Qaida-linked Islamist movement called the Shabab.

For the past 19 months, the Shabab, along with other Islamists and clan-based militiamen, have been waging a bloody⁶ insurgency⁷ against Somalia's unpopular transitional government and trying to force its main backer, Ethiopia, to withdraw its troops from Somalia.

The National Union of Somali Journalists says there are people on all sides of the current conflict, who do not want the outside world to know what is happening in Somalia, and are targeting and threatening journalists to silence them.

1 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

4 ambushing   

v.埋伏( ambush的现在分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The militia succeeded in ambushing the invading enemy soldiers. 民兵们成功地伏击了入侵的敌军。 来自互联网

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

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