VOA标准英语2009年-Al-Shabab Denies Responsibility for De

Militant¹ Islamist group al-Shabab has denied responsibility for a deadly suicide blast Thursday that killed at least 22 people, including 3 government ministers and a number of Somalia's educated elite².

Alan Boswell | Nairobi 04 December 2009

Somali man is carried away from scene of suicide bomb attack during university student graduation ceremony at a local hotel in Mogadishu, 3 Dec 2009

 

Militant Islamist group al-Shabab has denied responsibility for a deadly suicide blast Thursday that killed at least 22 people, including 3 government ministers and a number of Somalia's educated elite. The nation's embattled president addressed the country Thursday evening to condemn³ the attack, which the government blames on the Islamist rebels. 

 

President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed says that targeting the nation's graduate students and intellectuals is a tactic⁴ of foreigners and is not a service to the Somali people.

The spokesman for al-Shabab, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, denies responsibility for the attack, suggesting it was the product of a feud⁵ within the faltering⁶ government.

The bombing at the Hotel Shamo in Mogadishu ended a graduation ceremony for medical students of the local Banadir University, which was also being attended by a number of senior government officials.

Eyewitnesses⁷ say that the assailant received entry into the event dressed up as a woman.

Five months ago a suicide bombing in the Somali town of Baladwayne killed the government minister of interior security as well as at least 30 others. Then in September, two explosive-laden vehicles penetrated⁸ the base of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, resulting in the death of 17 peacekeepers.

The use of suicide attacks is a relatively⁹ new tactic in Somalia's long-running conflicts. Analysts¹⁰ believe that al-Shabab is coming increasingly under the control of al-Qaida-linked foreign operatives.

Ibrahim, a civil society activist¹¹ for the Somali Institute for Research and Development, says that if al-Shabab carried out the attack - for which he says there is little doubt - the group's denial could be due to the shocking nature of Thursday's death toll¹².

Besides the government ministers, many of those killed were graduating medical students and their professors. Somalia's years of turmoil¹³ has left it with a very limited pool of educated professionals, a pool which has now shrunk even further.

Ibrahim, who believes that the alienating¹⁴ tactics of al-Shabab has already turned the majority of the Somali population against the rebel group, says that this latest attack is a significant blow to the Mogadishu government. He says that these attacks will only become more and more routine unless the government organizes a strong counter-force against its foes¹⁵.

"They [the government] got the legitimacy¹⁶, and I think they have the support of the international community as well as of the Somali people," Ibrahim said. "But then they keep sitting there, and they are not doing enough. They have to take some offensive and they have to be very strong."

A fourth government minister was injured in the blast. Three journalists were also killed, raising the total journalists killed this year to nine.

A collective statement from AMISOM, the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, the League of Arab States, and others on Thursday strongly condemned¹⁷ what it described as a "cowardly" attack on civilians¹⁸ and pledged continued support to the Mogadishu government.

1 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。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

4 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

5 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

6 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

7 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

8 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 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。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

14 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网

15 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

16 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

17 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

18 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。