2006年VOA标准英语-Somalia's New Security Threat: Improvised

By Alisha Ryu
Mogadishu
13 February 2006

Since the fall of Somalia's last functioning government in 1991, Somalis have become used to the warring factions¹ fighting each other with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. But, the use of homemade bombs the U.S. military calls "improvised² explosive devices" is steadily³ increasing in Somalia, raising fears that a new, far more deadly phase of insecurity has begun in the lawless Horn of African country.

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Residents living near the area of Mogadishu called Kilometer Four say they will never forget what happened on the night of December 22.

Shortly after nightfall, several people say they saw a group of men gathering⁴ in a small dirt field, just off the main road. One of the witnesses, 18-year-old Hassan Mohammed says he thought the men were acting⁵ suspiciously. But he could not see much in the dark, so he went inside his house.

A few minutes later, Mohammed says an ear-splitting explosion shattered windows and sent people fleeing into the streets in panic.

He says he immediately ran over to the dirt field, where the suspicious-looking men had been, and saw pools of what appeared to be blood. Mohammed says he went back to the site the next morning and discovered human body parts scattered⁶ all over the field.

At least five men are believed to have been killed in the blast. Since there are no police in Mogadishu, the incident was never investigated. But based on the size of the explosion, most people here say they believe that the men were handling a large improvised explosive device, commonly known as an IED, which detonated prematurely⁷.

Most IEDs are made of artillery⁸ or mortar⁹ shells, fitted with a remote detonator. Until a year ago, Somalis had only heard about these crude-but-lethal bombs as a weapon used against U.S. military convoys¹¹ in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But last February 17, an IED hidden on an abandoned motorcycle exploded on a road in Mogadishu, killing¹² two Somalis but missing its intended target - a convoy¹⁰ of U.N. delegates who had arrived in support of international efforts to move Somalia's transitional federal government from exile in Nairobi to Mogadishu.
 

In US Navy photo, remains¹³ of rocket-propelled grenade are seen off coast of Somalia, Nov. 7, 2005 after cruise liner Seabourn Spirit was attacked by pirates  
  
The incident in February marked the first of several deadly bombings involving IEDs in Somalia last year, and no one has claimed responsibility for any of them.

A local radio journalist, Mohammed Amiin Sheikh Adow, says without the ability to gather and analyze¹⁴ evidence, Somalis can only speculate as to who may be behind the bombings.

"Some people relate it to Islamic extremists," he said. "They say the clerics are behind this. Some others say it is the people who oppose the Somali central government. But most feel that it may be Islamic extremism behind it."

Hard-line Muslim clerics in Mogadishu have made no secret of their opposition¹⁵ to Somalia's transitional government, formed last October in neighboring Kenya.

The Western-style, parliamentary government is composed of factional leaders and politicians, who are secular¹⁶ Muslims and do not share the clerics' vision of establishing an ultraconservative Islamic government in Somalia. The clerics have repeatedly said that they are determined¹⁷ to set up a government, which adheres strictly¹⁸ to teachings in the Koran.

At least one of the bombings last year specifically targeted the transitional Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi.

Last November, a huge explosion tore through the neighborhood near Ramadan hotel in Mogadishu, where Prime Minister Gedi was staying while visiting the city. Mr. Gedi was not hurt, but six people were killed in the blast.

While it is possible that Muslim extremists tried to assassinate¹⁹ the prime minister in a bid to derail the government, some Somalis say the bombing could have well have been staged by one of Mr. Gedi's political rivals.

At the moment, the transitional government is split between supporters of Mr. Gedi, who is based in the city of Jowhar north of Mogadishu, and supporters of the Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, who is based in the capital.

Journalist Mohammed Amiin Sheikh Adow says he doubts anyone will ever know the truth behind the attacks.

"Really, it is too dangerous. It is too dangerous," he said. "Some people may see you a traitor²⁰ if you try to know more about this. You can get killed."

What is certain to most Somalis is that with little sign that the country will get a functioning government any time soon, the battle to fill the political vacuum will only escalate²¹.

They fear that IEDs have now become another weapon to be used in the fight, leaving frightened Mogadishu residents like Fatima Ali Osman to wonder what the future holds for ordinary civilians²².

Osman says every Somali has been the victim of violence for the past 15 years and knows unspeakable suffering firsthand. But she says she believes the bombings are the start of something much worse than what anyone has seen up to now.

She says, "Only God can save us now from this madness."

1 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

2 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

3 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

7 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

8 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

9 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

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。

11 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 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。

14 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

15 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。

16 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

17 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。

18 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

19 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

20 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

21 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

22 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。