VOA标准英语2009-Official Says Ethiopian Troops Back in Somal

A local official in Somalia says Ethiopian troops are now staying at a military base near a town in the central part of the country. The reported sighting of Ethiopian troops in central Somalia is just one of several from around the country.

In an interview with local reporters, the district commissioner¹ of Balanbale town in the central Galgadud region says several truck loads of Ethiopian troops are staying at the military base set up on the outskirts² of the town.

District Commissioner Hareere Hassan Barre did not say how many Ethiopian troops were in Balanbale, located about 28 kilometers from the Ethiopian border, but his comments appear to back up other eyewitness³ reports.

Barre said the soldiers began arriving there on Friday and have set up a military camp in the western part of town.

The Somali official says an Ethiopian commander explained that the troops have been sent to Balanbale for security reasons, not to re-occupy the town. Barre says their presence appears to be related to heightened al-Shabab activities in central Somalia in recent weeks.

Since early May, deadly fighting has erupted in several towns in the Galgadud region between pro-government militias⁴ and an alliance of al-Shabab and Hisbul Islam militants⁵. The militants are fighting to retain, and to expand, the territory they control in central and southern Somalia and to overthrow⁶ the weak government of President Sharif Sheik Ahmed.

Under a U.N.-sponsored agreement with the moderate Islamist leader, Ethiopia ended its unpopular two-year occupation of Somalia five months ago. But the militants have portrayed⁷ President Sharif as a western puppet and have intensified⁸ the insurgency⁹.

Ethiopia remains¹⁰ deeply wary¹¹ of al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaida network, and Hisbul Islam, which is led by hard-line nationalists determined¹² to unite ethnically¹³ Somali parts of Ethiopia with Somalia. Hundreds of foreigners are also believed to be Somalia, fighting alongside the Somali militants.

The government in Addis Ababa had warned that Ethiopian troops would be sent back if the Somali government was unable to keep the militants in check. Earlier this month, government spokesman Bereket Simon acknowledged that Ethiopian troops have conducted what he called "small reconnaissance missions" across the border.

But Bereket has flatly rejected Somali reports that Ethiopian troops have set up camp in Balanbale.

Chad's ambassador to the African Union, Sharif Mohamed Zene, who holds the rotating chairmanship of the A.U. Peace and Security Council, says he believes the allegation is being made by rebel groups trying to find an excuse to attack the government and African Union peacekeeping troops in the capital Mogadishu.

"The Ethiopian troops are not there. They withdrew completely from Somalia. It is a false allegation," Zene said.

In recent months, eyewitnesses¹⁴ in the central Hiran region of Somalia have reported seeing large numbers of Ethiopian troops in the border town of Kala Bayr. Last week, residents in Somalia's Bakool region said that Ethiopian troops had moved into a village called Washaga, near the Ethiopian border.

None of the reports have been independently verified. But both regions have significant al-Shabab and Hisbul Islam presence.

1 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

4 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

5 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。

6 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

7 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

13 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

14 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。