VOA慢速英语--也门前总统阿里·阿卜杜拉·萨利赫被杀

Yemen’s Ex-President Saleh Killed

Houthi rebels in Yemen say former president Ali Abdullah Saleh has been killed.

The death was announced Monday by a Houthi-run television station. An official with Yemen’s internationally recognized government confirmed to the Associated Press that Saleh had been killed.

A video published on social media appeared to show Saleh’s body being carried away by a group of armed men. The bloodied¹ body wrapped in a blanket had severe head injuries.

A top Houthi media official told the AP the ex-president was killed near Marib, an eastern province bordering Saudi Arabia. The official said Saleh “was trying to flee to Saudi.”

Saleh ruled the country for 33 years and played a major role in Yemen’s ongoing² civil war. He was ousted³ in 2012 under popular and political pressure.

The Saudi government leads a coalition⁴ that has been fighting Iran-backed Houthi militants⁵ in Yemen during a nearly three-year-old war. The campaign is aimed at returning to power the country’s internationally recognized president, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. His government was driven out of Yemen’s capital Sana'a in 2014 by Houthi-led forces.

The leader of the country’s Houthi rebels, Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, said in a speech Monday that his forces had killed Saleh for “treason.” He said Saleh had turned on the Houthis by communicating with and supporting the Saudi-led coalition.

The Houthi leader said he had sent several warnings to Saleh not to cooperate with the coalition. He called Saleh’s killing⁶ a “historic defeat to the forces of the coalition.”

A breakdown⁷ in the rebel alliance last week led to heavy fighting in Sanaa between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Saleh. Houthi fighters took control of much of the capital, but the coalition stepped up its attacks on rebel positions.

Hours after Saleh’s killing, Hadi urged Yemenis from exile in Riyadh to unify⁸ against the Houthi rebels. He described the militants as “Iranian militias⁹.”

He offered condolences for the death of Saleh, describing him and others killed in recent days of fighting as “martyrs.”

“Let's put our hands together to end this nightmare,'' Hadi said.

He added that government forces would support any “uprising” against Houthi fighters in Sana'a.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

condolence – n. feeling or expression of sympathy and sadness especially when someone is suffering because of the death of a family member, a friend, etc.

martyr¹⁰ – n. person who is killed or suffers greatly for a cause

nightmare – n. very bad or frightening experience or situation

1 bloodied   

v.血污的( bloody的过去式和过去分词 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• His pants leg was torn and bloodied when he fell. 他跌交时裤腿破了，还染上了血。 来自辞典例句

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

8 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

9 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

10 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。