VOA标准英语2009-Kenya Undecided on Sending Troops to Somalia

Kenya's prime minister says the government is not ready to say whether the country's military will intervene in the conflict in neighboring Somalia. Kenya and other countries in the region are under intense pressure from the Somali government to send troops into Somalia to keep Islamist militants¹ there from taking power.
　
Kenyan PM, Raila Odinga (file photo)

Following talks with his Somali counterpart Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke in Nairobi Monday, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told reporters that his government has not yet made a decision about sending Kenyan troops into Somalia.

"The situation right now is very crucial because the campaign is around Mogadishu itself. If Mogadishu falls, the consequences would be very grave indeed," Mr. Odinga said. "We are pledging our full support to the government. We are discussing this issue and are going to make consultations². Announcements are going to be made."

Prime Minister Odinga says among the resolutions guiding the African Union and the six-member, east African Intergovernmental Authority on Development, are rules that restrict nations from interfering³ in the internal affairs of their neighbors. Mr. Odinga suggested that a better solution for Somalia would be for the international community as a whole to send immediate⁴ military assistance.

The Kenyan leader's comments stopped short of the commitment the U.N.-supported Somali government had hoped to receive from one of its staunchest allies in the region. On Saturday, the government made an extraordinary appeal, urging neighboring countries - Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Yemen - to militarily intervene in Somalia to keep the country from falling into the hands of Islamic extremists allied⁵ with al-Qaida.

Since May, government and pro-government forces have been battling ferocious⁶ insurgent⁷ attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere, led by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab. About 4,300 African Union peacekeeping troops are in the capital protecting the presidential palace and key installations. But they have no mandate⁸ to pursue the insurgents⁹.

Al-Shabab, listed by the United States as a terrorist organization, has vowed¹⁰ to topple the pro-western government and turn Somalia into an ultra-conservative Islamic state. The Somali government says hundreds of foreign fighters, battle-hardened in Iraq and Afghanistan, are now pouring into the country to help al-Shabab.
　
Al-Shebab fighter guards a crowd in Mogadishu during a court session run by the Islmaist group, 22 Jun 2009

Kenya suffered al-Qaida-related terrorist attacks in 1998 and 2002. Anti-terrorism officials here say one of the top commanders of the foreign fighters in Somalia is Kenyan-born Ali Saleh Nabhan, who is believed to have been involved in all successful and foiled attacks against Kenya in the past 11 years.

On Sunday, the spokesman of the al-Shabab-run administration in Kismayo in southern Somalia, Hassan Yaqub, warned Kenya that if any Kenyan troop is found across the border in Somalia, al-Shabab would send suicide bombers¹¹ to attack the downtown area of Nairobi.

Yaqub says the people in downtown Nairobi will meet the same fate as Somalia's security minister Omar Hashi Aden, who was killed along with dozens of others in a suicide blast last Thursday at a hotel in Beledweyne.

Kenyan Prime Minister Odinga declined to comment on the al-Shabab threat.

There has been no official response from Djibouti or Yemen about the Somali request for troops. But Ethiopia says that it would only intervene under a mandate from the international community. Ethiopia ended a widely unpopular military occupation of Somalia in January under a U.N.-sponsored peace deal signed in Djibouti.

Residents in several border towns in Somalia say Ethiopian troops are already back in their villages, conducting security operations.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 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。

6 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

7 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。

8 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

9 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

10 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

11 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》