VOA标准英语2009-Suicide Bombings Increase in Somalia

Last week, a top Somali government minister was killed in a suicide bombing claimed by al-Shabab militants² opposed to the government. It was the latest of about a dozen al-Shabab-related suicide attacks that have rocked Somalia for the past three years. A professor in the United States has a theory about why suicide bombings are becoming increasingly common in a country that had never seen one prior to 2006.
　
People, policemen look at the car used for suicide bombing after it struck a military camp for the Somali security forces in the south Mogadishu, 23 May 2009

On September 18, 2006, a suicide car bomber³ rammed⁴ his car into a convoy⁵ escorting the president of Somalia's transitional federal government at the time, Abdullahi Yusuf, in the central town of Baidoa. The Somali leader was unhurt, but the attack killed his brother and four of his bodyguards⁶.

The attack took place around the time when President Yusuf and his U.N.-backed interim⁷ government approved neighboring Ethiopia's plan to amass⁸ troops inside Somalia to fight the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition⁹ of moderate and hard-line Islamists who had taken over Somalia in June of that year.

The suicide bombing in Baidoa was a turning point for Somalia, whose citizens, up until then, were reluctant to believe that a tactic¹⁰ used by extremists around the world would be imported to be used against Somalis.

Professor Robert Pape at the University of Chicago in the United States has been studying suicide terrorism cases since 1980. He says by inviting¹¹ Ethiopian troops to invade Somalia, he believes the Somali government created an ideal trigger for the country's first suicide attack.

"From 1980 until the end of 2008, there were nearly 1,800 suicide terrorist attacks around the world," Pape said. "Ninety-five percent of those attacks have occurred in a specific context -- that is in the context of a foreign military occupation of a country. For instance, before the U.S. invasion in March, 2003, Iraq never experienced a suicide attack in its history. Since our invasion, this has become the largest suicide terrorist campaign that we have witnessed."

In late December, 2006, Ethiopia defeated the Islamic Courts Union and installed the government of Abdullahi Yusuf in its place. A violent Islamist-led insurgency¹² ensued and Ethiopia kept thousands of troops in Somalia to prop¹³ up the weak government.

Pape says in Somalia, the occupation of troops loyal to a Christian-dominated government in Addis Ababa, backed by the United States, was viewed by most ordinary Somalis as a threat to the country's sovereignty. And it gave al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-linked militant¹ wing of the Islamic Courts Union, the popular support it needed to recruit, re-group, and to carry out increasingly deadlier suicide attacks.

"When you have foreign occupiers viewed as having a different religion, that allows terrorists to paint those occupiers as having a religious agenda to take control of the government and transform the political and social institutions against the wishes of the local population," Pape said.

On October 29th, 2008, five, near-simultaneous suicide bombings shook northern Somalia - three in the breakaway republic of Somaliland and two in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. In the Somaliland capital of Hargeisa, the presidential palace, the Ethiopian consulate¹⁴, and the United Nations Development Program offices were hit. In Bosasso in Puntland, the targets were the offices of the Puntland Intelligence Service

Al-Shabab has long accused Somaliland and Puntland of cooperating with Ethiopia and the United States in efforts to identify militant Islamist cells and their leaders in the Horn of Africa. Pape says the militants probably chose suicide bombings because they were the most financially feasible, simple, and intimidating¹⁵ tactic they could use to pressure governments in Somalia to sever¹⁶ relations with Ethiopia and the West.

In January, Ethiopia pulled its troops out of Somalia under a U.N.-sponsored peace deal with a moderate Islamist opposition¹⁷ faction¹⁸. The transitional federal government merged¹⁹ with the group to form a new government led by former Islamist insurgent²⁰ leader, President Sharif Sheik Ahmed.

The changes forced al-Shabab and other militants to shift targets. They are now portraying²¹ AMISOM, the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, as foreign occupiers and the unity²² government as a western puppet. AMISOM troops, Somali troops, and government officials have all been targeted in suicide attacks in recent months.

A Somali civil society leader, who declined to be identified for security reasons, says what concerns him is that he believes al-Shabab leaders are religious zealots, who are continuing to use nationalism as an excuse to seek new religious recruits and expand the war.

He notes that nearly two decades of conflict in Somalia have deeply traumatized the country, especially its young people. And many remain vulnerable to al-Shabab's Salafist/Wahhabist teachings, which extol²³ the virtues²⁴ of martyrdom in the name of Islam.

"Even if AMISOM is out of the country and the country is for the Somalis alone, I do not think al-Shabab will stop these suicide bombings unless they get what they want," he said. "And what they want is very clear. It is to rule the country and apply their version of Islamic interpretation²⁵."

The civil society leader says hundreds, perhaps thousands, of foreign fighters are now believed to be in Somalia to help al-Shabab overthrow²⁶ the government.

He says al-Shabab has never explained to the Somali people why AMISOM troops are considered foreign occupiers but thousands of foreigners fighting in Somalia are not.

1 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。

2 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。

3 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

4 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

11 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

12 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

13 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

14 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

15 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

16 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

17 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

18 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

19 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

20 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

21 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

22 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。

23 extol   

v.赞美，颂扬

参考例句：

• We of the younger generation extol the wisdom of the great leader and educator.我们年轻一代崇拜那位伟大的引路人和教育家的智慧。
• Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. 我要天天称颂你，也要永永远远赞美你的名。

24 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

25 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

26 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。