VOA标准英语2009年-Somalia Seeks Urgent Support as it Faces R

Intense diplomatic activity is underway in East African capitals aimed at saving Somalia's embattled government from a determined¹ onslaught by well-financed radical² Islamist rebels. Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is touring the region before an urgent high-level meeting scheduled later this week.

President Sharif was in Ethiopia's capital as part of a whirlwind tour of the member states of IGAD, the East African regional economic grouping.

He flew on to Uganda's capital, Kampala. His is also visiting IGAD member states Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti before a regional foreign ministers' meeting Friday in Addis Ababa.

Last week, the African Union summit in Libya gave its full support to upgrading the overstretched AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia known as AMISOM.

Efforts are on to rapidly increase the size of the 4,500 member AMISOM force to its full strength of 8,000.

There is also a move to strengthen AMISOM's rules of engagement to meet the challenge posed by the recent influx³ of as many as 2,000 foreign fighters. The foreigners have come in response to a call from al-Shabab, the rebel group fighting to replace President Sharif's Western-leaning government with a hardline Islamic state.

Sunday, al-Shabab issued an ultimatum⁴ to government forces to surrender their arms within five days.

After meeting Ethiopian leaders, President Sharif said he is encouraged by the response and by the relative calm in the capital, Mogadishu, following nearly two months of heavy fighting. He spoke⁵ through an interpreter.

"The situation is calm in Somalia that last couple days. One of the things we discussed was completing the AMISOM forces to their full strength. The people of Somalia are supportive of their government as it leads them toward peace and stability," he said.

As the Somali president was speaking at an Addis Ababa hotel, the AU ambassadors from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council were meeting in a nearby room.

Diplomatic sources say the Security Council ambassadors discussed a request from African leaders at last week's summit to impose a no-fly zone and a blockade of Somali ports to prevent the entry of foreign fighters and the shipments of weapons that are fueling the conflict. The summit also urged the Security Council to sanction Eritrea, the Horn of Africa country accused of providing support to the Somali rebellion.

The United States last month urgently sent a $10-million arms and military training package to President Sharif's government. The African Union Peace and Security Council is slated⁶ to meet this month to consider boosting AMISOM's mandate⁷ to allow peacekeepers to more robustly⁸ engage the rebels.
　
Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed speaks to journalists, in Mogadishu, Somalia, 18 Jun 2009

President Sharif says he is encouraged by the votes of confidence from the AU summit and the neighboring IGAD countries.

"The support we are looking for is political support, and support that is meaningful that can make a difference in the lives of the Somali people," he said.

After meeting President Sharif, Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said discussions are moving forward on all fronts.

"We have also discussed the need of supporting the government, building institutions of governance, and urging the international community to honor the pledges made in Brussels supporting the government financially and we have also discussed how we urge the United Nations Security Council to heed⁹ Africa's decisions, call on the Security Council of the United Nations to impose sanctions on the spoilers," Mesfin said.

Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia in 2006 to oust¹⁰ Islamists in Mogadishu, but the presence of foreign troops proved to be a rallying point for the rebels, and the Ethiopians pulled out earlier this year.

Despite the recent violence, Ethiopia Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said he has no intention of sending the troops back.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 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。

3 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

4 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

7 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。

8 robustly   

adv.要用体力地，粗鲁地

参考例句：

• These three hormones also robustly stimulated thymidine incorporation and inhibited drug-induced apoptosis. 并且这三种激素有利于胸（腺嘧啶脱氧核）苷掺入和抑制药物诱导的细胞凋亡。 来自互联网
• The economy is still growing robustly, but inflation, It'seems, is back. 经济依然强劲增长，但是通胀似乎有所抬头。 来自互联网

9 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

10 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。