2006年VOA标准英语-Islamic Militias Take Another Somali Town

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
13 November 2006

Troops in the semi-autonomous and secular¹ region of Puntland in Somalia have reportedly been placed on full alert, after they failed to stop Somali Islamists from capturing a town Sunday near Galkaayo.

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Puntland's Minister of Information Abdurahman Banga confirmed that Islamist militiamen are in control of the town of Bandiradley, nearly 700 kilometers north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Banga said that Islamist forces attacked the town first, disputing Islamists' contention³ that its forces there came under attack from pro-government militiamen, backed by troops from Ethiopia and Puntland.

The Islamists, whose leadership Ethiopia and the United States believes has ties to al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations, already control most areas of southern and central Somalia.

But Bandiradley is the northernmost town the Islamists have seized in Somalia since they took power from factional leaders in Mogadishu in early June.

Bandiradley is only 70 kilometers from the Puntland town of Galkaayo, which some Islamist militia² leaders have vowed⁴ to take next. 

		Islamist militia guards a rally in Buur Hakaba, Nov. 10, 2006 , as residents demonstrated in support of the recently formed Islamic court.

Mohamed Kashawito is the Director of Radio Unity⁵ in Bossasso in northern Puntland. He tells VOA that many people in Puntland are expecting Islamists to push into Puntland and spark a major clash.

He said, "Yes, there are some [people] afraid because the Islamic courts are capturing more districts in Somalia and are very strong. Now, Puntland has prepared one thousand five hundred troops. Both sides are ready to fight."

Sunday's fighting involved forces loyal to secular factional leader Abdi Qeybdid, who hails from Puntland and was the last factional leader to be ousted⁶ from Mogadishu in June. Qeybdid is allied⁷ with Somalia's weak transitional government, Puntland's regional administration, and Ethiopia.

Last week, his forces fought a brief battle with Islamist militiamen for control of Bandiradley, but failed to secure the town.

Puntland officials acknowledge that their troops were involved in Sunday's battle. But they deny Islamist charges that Ethiopians also fought alongside them.

A recent U.N. report estimated that as many as eight-thousand Ethiopian troops may be in Somalia or deployed⁸ along the border. Ethiopia maintains it only has a few hundred military advisors⁹ to support the transitional government in Baidoa.

Experts have warned that Somalia could become a proxy¹⁰ battleground for Ethiopia and Eritrea, who fought a war nearly a decade ago and remain bitter enemies. Eritrea is accused of supplying the Islamists with weapons, in a bid to destabilize Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, neighboring Kenya announced that all commercial flights to and from Somalia would be suspended indefinitely.

The move follows recent warnings by the United States that extremists in Somalia may be planning to stage suicide bombings in Kenya and Ethiopia.

1 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

2 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。

3 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

4 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。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 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。

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 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

10 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。