2006年VOA标准英语-Humanitarian Crisis Triggered by Somalia Fighti

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
28 December 2006

Aid agencies say recent fighting in Somalia has taken a humanitarian¹ toll². Hundreds of people have been wounded, thousands have fled their homes and tens of thousands are cut off from food relief they have relied on since the country's recent floods. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says medical facilities near the front lines of battles in central and southern Somalia have admitted more than 800 people wounded during the fighting.

The agency's medical coordinator³ Somalia, Oscar Avogadri, describes to VOA some of the most common injuries sustained as a result of what the agency considers "the worst fighting in a decade."

He said, "They had fighting in open fields - so they should have gunshot wounds - and eventually shelling, because we know they have used mortars⁴, etc."

"Most of the wounded are wounded in the limbs, because usually this is the pattern. Some of them have abdominal⁵ or chest wounds. They are [being] treated in the different hospitals," he added.

A Somali family takes a ride on a donkey cart near Buur to escape fighting, 24 Dec 2006

The agency reports that thousands have fled their homes for safer locations, and says it is "extremely concerned" about civilians⁶ caught up in the fighting, those who have been injured, and people in detention⁷ because of the clashes.

The latest round of fighting between Ethiopian-backed Somali government troops and fighters loyal to the Islamic Courts Union, which took control of much of Somalia earlier this year, flared⁸ last week.

Much of the fighting was concentrated on several fronts near the town of Baidoa, the base of the internationally backed transitional government.

As a result of the conflict, the World Food Program Tuesday suspended its helicopter deliveries of food aid to communities near the port city of Kismayo that had been hit hard by recent flooding.

World Food Program spokesman Peter Smerdon says the war has made a bad situation worse.

He said, "This comes on top of the worst floods in many years that have affected⁹ nearly half a million people, which themselves were preceded by the worst drought in 10 years."

"So, these people have been exhausted¹⁰ by the droughts and floods, and, now, the conflict and general tensions are stopping them from receiving the humanitarian assistance that they so badly need," he continued.

Smerdon says airdrops of food have also been suspended, and the fighting has disrupted some road deliveries. About 25 humanitarian workers have been re-located from Kismayo to Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

The agency airdropped 28 metric tons of food into the flooded areas on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Smerdon explains that the World Food Program was set to deliver 1,000 metric tons of food aid to about 50,000 in the flooded areas over the next few weeks when the flights were suspended.

Earlier this year, the Islamic Courts Union seized control of the capital and much of the rest of the country before reaching a truce¹¹ with the government.

The two sides signed a peace accord in September, but negotiations¹² meant to finalize¹³ the accord collapsed¹⁴ in Sudan on November second.

In the recent fighting, the Islamists have fled the capital before advancing Ethiopian-backed government troops.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

5 abdominal   

adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Abdominal tissues sometimes adhere after an operation.手术之后腹部有时会出现粘连。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

8 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

11 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

13 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。

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。