VOA标准英语2009-Clashes Return to Somali Capital

At least eight people have died in renewed fighting in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Islamist insurgents² and pro-government forces have clashed repeatedly since insurgents launched an offensive last month.
　
Body of a Somali government soldier killed during heavy fighting in the Somali capital Mogadishu, 01 Jun 2009

After a few days of relative calm, government soldiers and their allies attacked a police station in northern Mogadishu that had been captured earlier by radical³ Islamist insurgents.

A member of Somalia's parliament, Salad Ali Jeelle, described the battle, which began late Sunday and continued Monday.

He said the Yaqshid District police station had been held by insurgent¹ groups. But government forces, with cooperation from local residents, regained⁴ control of the station.

A least three people were killed in the fighting.

Later in the day, five policemen died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Mogadishu. One local human rights organization put the toll⁵ from fighting during the past two days at 38.

On May 8, insurgents from the al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam militias⁶ stepped up their attacks on government soldiers and allied⁷ militias in the capital. More than 200 people have been killed in the latest round of fighting, and the United Nations says more than 62,000 have been displaced from their homes.

President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who took office in January, is himself a former Islamist insurgent leader and many of those defending his government are members of Islamist militias.

But the insurgents now reject President Sharif as too moderate, despite his efforts to introduce Islamic law in the country. They say he is too close to the United States and Ethiopia.

Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia in January after a two-year occupation though residents near the town of Beledweyne, near the border, say Ethiopian troops have been patrolling on the Somali side of the border in recent weeks.

Somalia's government has accused Eritrea of backing the insurgents, and the African Union has asked the United Nations to impose sanctions on Eritirea.

The insurgents are also calling for the departure of roughly 4,300 African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu. The African Union says it is overwhelmed and is calling for the United Nations to take over peacekeeping efforts. The United Nations says it supports the idea, but that for now the security situation remains⁸ too dangerous.

An international meeting to discuss Somalia is scheduled for June 9 and 10 in Rome.

1 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

2 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

3 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。

4 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

5 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。

6 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

7 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。

8 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。