VOA标准英语2009年-Somalia Government Plays Down Reports of E

Somalia's government has played down reports that Ethiopian troops have re-entered the country in recent days. Islamist insurgents¹ have clashed with pro-government militias² near the Ethiopian border in central Somalia, and continue an assault on the fragile government in Mogadishu.
　
Islamist fighters a few kilometers from the presidential palace in Mogadishu, 17 May 2009

A number of residents of the Hiran region of central Somalia say Ethiopian troops have crossed into the country in recent days. But Somalia's information minister, Farhan Ali Mohamud played down the reports.

He said the government has heard the media reports of Ethiopian troops entering the country, but that he does not think they are accurate. It is understandable, he said, that Ethiopia would deploy⁴ troops along the border to defend itself, considering the fighting taking place on the Somali side. But he said he does not believe Ethiopian troops have entered Somali territory.

Ethiopian soldiers entered Somalia in 2006 during a U.S.-backed operation to dislodge the Islamic Courts Union from Mogadishu. The short-lived Islamist government included both current President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who now has the backing of the international community, and Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who leads one of the Islamist factions⁵ leading the current assault on the government.

Ethiopian forces withdrew from Somalia in January after a peace deal between the government and President Sharif's faction⁶ of the opposition⁷, but said it would return if its interests were threatened. Ethiopia maintains a strong troop presence along the border. There have been intermittent⁸ reports of Ethiopian troops crossing over in recent months. Ethiopia has also denied that its soldiers are in the country.

Since May 8, Islamist insurgents form the al-Shabab militia³, and Hizbul Islam, an allied⁹ coalition¹⁰ of militias, have been battling government forces, pro-government militias and African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu. Insurgents attacked a base for AU peacekeepers from Burundi early Wednesday. At least three civilians¹¹ were killed, but no peacekeepers.

The United Nations refugee agency says that 45,000 people have been displaced from their homes in the capital since the latest wave of fighting began. Most, it says, are heading to the Afgooye road southeast of the city, where some 400,000 internally displaced people are already staying. Others have moved to safer districts of Mogadishu.
　
Somalian President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed (File photo)

Al-Shabab this week also captured Jowhar, north of Mogadishu, the home town of President Sharif. Local media reported that al-Shabab fighters looted U.N. offices in the town and that al-Shabab has established an Islamic administration in the town. Al-Shabab has already established a strict version of Islamic law in other areas in controls in southern Somalia, including the port city of Kismayo.

Ministers from the IGAD regional group of countries held an emergency meeting in Addis Ababa on Wednesday. The head of the AU Peace and Security Council, Jean Ping, appealed to countries to block access to ports controlled by the insurgents. He also repeated the AU's request for UN peacekeepers to replace the undermanned AU mission. The UN Security Council has said it is in favor of eventually transitioning to a UN peacekeeping mission, but for the time being the security situation remains¹² too precarious¹³.

Also on Wednesday, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said that a conference would be held in Rome next month to deal with issues of security and piracy¹⁴ in Somalia. He said the meeting would include member of the government and opposition, but offered few details. He said the problem of piracy can only be tackled by helping¹⁵ Somalia's fragile government restore order to the country.

Somalia has been without a properly functioning central government since 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted¹⁶ from power.

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 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

3 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

4 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

5 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

6 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 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。

11 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。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

14 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

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 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。