2006年VOA标准英语-Somalia Government Troops Capture Town Held By

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
09 October 2006

Islamist militia¹ leaders in Somalia say government troops have taken control of a town near the government base of Baidoa that had been held by militias² loyal to the rival Islamic Courts Union. 

Islamic leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed speaks during a news conference, Monday, Oct. 9, 2006 in the Somali capital Mogadishu  
  
The town of Burahakaba is located on the road that runs from the capital, Mogadishu, which the Islamic Courts Union controls, to Baidoa, the current seat of the internationally backed transitional government.

According to media reports, citing eyewitnesses³, Somali interim⁴ government forces, backed by what media reports said were Ethiopian troops, overran the town, forcing fighters from the Islamic Courts Union to flee.

Ethiopia has repeatedly denied any troop presence in Somalia.

Somali Foreign Affairs Minister Esmael Mohamud Hurreh would not comment on the reported attack. He tells VOA that, it is the transitional federal government, which he refers to as TFG, that has the legitimacy⁵ in the volatile⁶ country.

"Our administration relies on a system where authority and resource division is actually done by the people. It is the government of the people, in actual sense, not in theoretical sense," he said. " A lot of people are asking for that, and seeing that the Islamic Courts are trying now to stop that, and to really see these movement of Islamic Courts coincide with the beginning of the TFG administrative⁷ structures."

The Islamic Courts Union, in turn, argues that its aim is to bring peace and stability to Somalia, and that the Courts have the best interest of the people in mind.

 
Militiamen of the Islamic Court in Mogadishu patrol the streets of Mogadishu
  
The Courts union first started expanding control in June, when its militias control of the capital, Mogadishu. It has since captured much of southern Somalia.

Monday's attack appears to be the first major advance against the Islamic Courts Union by the Somali government.

Somalia's interim government and the Union of Islamic Courts have been trying to negotiate a peace agreement that would see some sort of a power-sharing arrangement between them. The two met in Sudan last month, and are scheduled to finalize⁸ their agreement at the end of this month.

The two sides are also deadlocked⁹ over the issue of a regional peacekeeping force that the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development has offered, and, which the African Union has endorsed¹⁰.

The Courts are vehemently¹¹ opposed to having foreign peacekeepers in Somalia, while the government supports such a move. The Courts also maintain that Ethiopian troops have crossed over into Somalia to support the Somali government, a claim the government denies.

Since civil war broke out in 1991, militias loyal to clan¹² and sub-clan-based factions¹³ have controlled different parts of the country, with no central authority to provide law and order and even basic services to the population.

A transitional Somali parliament was formed in Kenya more than a year ago following a peace process.

1 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。

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 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

4 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

5 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

6 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

7 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

8 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

9 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

10 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

12 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

13 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