2007年VOA标准英语-Mogadishu Market Closes During Government Crack

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
09 July 2007

In Somalia, all businesses in Mogadishu's main Bakara market have shut down, while heavily armed Somali and Ethiopian troops say they are searching for insurgents¹ and weapons in the area. Tensions have escalated² sharply in the capital since Sunday, when a grenade attack on interim³-government soldiers in the market prompted the soldiers to open fire on civilians⁴. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

A respected Somali clan⁵ elder, Ali Sultan Ahmed, tells VOA that Bakara's normally bustling⁶ streets and allys are empty, as fearful business owners in Somalia's largest open-air market kept their shops closed.

The elder says he fears the on-going government security crackdown in Bakara may keep some businesses closed indefinitely. Ahmed says thousands of people, who conduct business in the market every day, have run away and some shopkeepers have even left with their property.

The government says it believes Bakara market is a haven⁷ for radical⁸ Islamists, who have stepped up guerilla attacks against government officials and Somali and Ethiopian troops in recent weeks. Several days ago, government troops began a security crackdown in Bakara to root out the insurgents and confiscate⁹ illegal weapons.

Since then, government officials have been besieged¹⁰ with complaints from business owners that weapons needed to protect their businesses have been taken away and they have not been able to stop looters, including many soldiers, from stealing their property.

Insurgents heightened fear and tensions by targeting government troops in Bakara for three straight days.

Smoke rises after an explosion outside the Dahabshil bank in Mogadishu, 7 July 2007

Witnesses say at least five people were killed and dozens of other people wounded on Sunday, when nervous Somali soldiers opened fire into a crowd of people after hand grenades were thrown in their direction.

Government officials have not commented on Sunday's incident. But Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Dheere says the security operation will not stop until the capital is safe and free from violence.

Somalia's Ethiopian-backed interim government has been struggling to assert control in Mogadishu since taking power in January from a radical Islamist movement.

Western donor¹¹ countries have urged government leaders to hold a broad-based national reconciliation¹² conference to end the country's 16-year civil war. The government says security operations are being carried out to create a safe environment for the talks, which have been delayed three times since April and are now scheduled to begin on July 15.

But Somalis say clan divisions, which have been the root cause of much of the country's violence, have become sharper than ever under the interim government.

1 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

2 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

7 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

8 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。

9 confiscate   

v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公

参考例句：

• The police have the right to confiscate any forbidden objects they find.如发现违禁货物，警方有权查扣。
• Did the teacher confiscate your toy?老师没收你的玩具了吗？

10 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

11 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

12 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。