VOA标准英语2009-Somalia Terrorist Group Suspected in Killing

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
13 November 2009

 
Shabab militia¹ patrol Bakara Market in Mogadishu (Oct 2009 file photo)
Security forces in Somalia's northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland say three people have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a judge late Wednesday in the commercial port town of Bosasso.  The assassination² may be linked to a Puntland cell of al-Shabab, a militant³ group linked with al-Qaida.

According to witnesses, two masked gunmen ambushed⁴ the judge, Sheik Mohamed Abdi Aware, as he left a mosque⁵. Aware died after being shot several times in the head and chest. 

In a separate incident in the regional capital Garowe, unknown gunmen killed a local member of parliament, Ibrahim Elmi Warsame, as he headed home from his office. 

Security forces have not released any details about the three men being held in connection with the shooting of the judge in Bosassao. 

In a radio address, Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole said the police and military are investigating both incidents and the region has been put on high alert.

Mr. Farole says Puntland is continuing to suffer from insecurity perpetrated by people opposed to peace. 

Puntland is home to notorious pirate groups, counterfeiters, as well as human traffickers, who smuggle⁶ thousands of people from the region to Yemen each year. Residents in Bosasso say Judge Aware had enemies because he had put many of the lawbreakers in jail.

Last week, the judge sentenced four men, convicted of being members of al-Shabab, to 15 years in prison, fueling belief among the locals the assassination was carried out by the militant group in revenge. Al-Shabab is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and Australia for being a proxy⁷ for al-Qaida in Somalia.

Al-Shabab militants⁸ had mainly operated in southern and central Somalia, concentrating their efforts in establishing ultra-conservative Islamic administrations in key towns and battling to expand their territory to include the capital Mogadishu. 

Somali sources tell VOA that al-Shabab is beginning to mobilize in Puntland, the northeastern region of Somalia that had been relatively⁹ stable compared to the south since the region formed its own administration in 1998. 

The Puntland cell is believed to be under the command of the third senior al-Shabab leader in the organization and is based in the Bari region, near the border of Sanaag claimed by both Puntland and the neighboring breakaway republic of Somaliland.

Hundreds of foreign fighters are also believed to be among the ranks of al-Shabab, assisting in training of recruits and battling alongside al-Shabab fighters. One of al-Qaida's main operatives in east Africa, Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, was killed in September in southern Somalia by U.S. Special Forces while he rode in a convoy¹⁰ of al-Shabab fighters. 

Al-Shabab carried out its largest attack to date in Somaliland and Puntland last October, carrying out multiple near-simultaneous suicide bombings in Bosasso and in the Somaliland capital Hargeisa. The bombings killed at least 30 people. 

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 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

7 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。

8 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。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。