VOA标准英语2009年-French Hostage Freed in Somalia

One of two French military advisors¹ kidnapped last month in the Somali capital Mogadishu is free and in the hands of the Somali government. But there are conflicting reports about how he gained his freedom.

In initial reports, senior Somali military and police officials said a foreigner approached government soldiers near the Villa² Somalia presidential palace in Mogadishu early Wednesday, identifying himself as one of the French men abducted³ by gunmen at the Sahafi Hotel last month.

The reports said the man was taken to the Villa Somalia, where he told government officials that he had escaped after killing⁴ three of his captors.

But in an interview with VOA's Somali Service, the former hostage, Marc Obriere, said he made his escape without violence when his captors were asleep.

"I did not hurt anybody. They make a mistake with my door. And after, I ran away through Mogadishu to a safe place," he said.

Obriere said that he was in good health and was treated fairly during his captivity⁵.

Sources in Mogadishu tell VOA that there are reports that some members of a hard-line Islamist insurgent⁶ group called Hisbul Islam arranged for the release of Obriere in exchange for a ransom⁷. A Hisbul Islam spokesman, Mohamed Osman Aruus, denied that anyone in his group had received a ransom. Separately, a French foreign ministry⁸ official told reporters in Paris the agent had escaped on his own, without incident, and that no ransom had been paid.

The fate of the second French hostage, who was being held by al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked militant⁹ group allied¹⁰ with Hisbul Islam, is not immediately clear. But residents in Mogadishu say al-Shabab fighters have been searching vehicles Wednesday at various checkpoints set up in areas under their control. That has led to speculation¹¹ that the second hostage may also have escaped or has been set free without authorization¹².
　
Mogadishu's hotel Sahafi, where two French military advisors were kidnapped 14 Jul 2009

Armed gunmen kidnapped the two French nationals on July 14. The French government said they were in Mogadishu working as security advisors to Somalia's U.N.-backed transitional government. There have been conflicting reports about what happened to the men after the kidnapping, but it is widely believed that the men were handed over to Islamist militants¹³ fighting to topple the Somali government.

One group of militants, Hisbul Islam, is said to have held both hostages briefly¹⁴ before handing Obriere's colleague to al-Shabab. Unconfirmed reports said the hostages were held in two different locations to discourage a rescue attempt.

In recent years, Somalia has seen a surge in ship hijackings that has netted pirates millions of dollars in ransom. On land, gunmen have carried out scores of kidnappings-for-ransom, targeting mostly journalists and aid workers. At least eight foreigners remain in captivity.

1 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

2 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

3 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

6 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。

7 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 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。

10 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

11 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

12 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

13 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。

14 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。