2007年VOA标准英语-Aid Workers in Somalia Fear Government Attack o

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
24 August 2007

International humanitarian¹ agencies and local aid workers in Somalia say they fear that camps for internally displaced people in the southern outskirts² of the capital, Mogadishu, may be the target of a military operation by Ethiopian and Somali troops. VOA correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

VOA has not been able to independently confirm the reports of a possible military action against IDP camps in the Afgoye District, 30 kilometers south of the capital, Mogadishu.

But remarks made by interim³ government leaders in the past week strongly suggest that, at the very least, the camps are under intense government scrutiny⁴.

On Monday, Mogadishu's Mayor Mohamed Dheere said that internally displaced people in the Afgoye area were terrorists with links to the al-Qaida terror network. Two days later, Somalia's interior minister, Mohamed Mohamud Guled, said that 4,500 newly trained government soldiers were ready to be deployed⁵ to wipe out terrorists and pacify⁶ Mogadishu within three weeks.

The IDP camps in Afgoye are home to tens of thousands of people, mainly from the Hebr Gedir sub-clan of Mogadishu's largest tribe called the Hawiye.

Many fled to Afgoye to escape the daily violence that has torn apart the capital since an Ethiopia-led offensive ousted⁷ Somali Islamists from power nearly eight months ago. But other Hebr Gedir sub-clan members say they were forced to leave Mogadishu by Ethiopian and Somali officials, who blame the sub-clan for breeding insurgents⁸ and supporting the insurgency⁹.

 

The unconfirmed reports say the goal of the operation is to root out radical¹⁰ Islamists and opponents of Somalia's western-backed Transitional Federal Government. Government officials say some insurgents are using the camps as base for their operations.

The director of operations for a non-governmental organization called SAACID-Australia, Tony Burns, says that the reports have greatly alarmed his organization and other humanitarian groups working in Somalia.

"These IDPs are in desperate need," he said. "Literally¹¹, tens of thousands in the Afgoye District in Lower Shabelle [region] alone are starving. We have heard rumors¹² that elements within the TFG and Ethiopian elements are mobilizing to further displace these people through military action. If that is true, we find [if] completely unacceptable."

In his remarks Monday, Mogadishu's mayor also criticized aid agencies for providing food to internally displaced people in Afgoye, accusing the agencies of feeding terrorists.

Burns says SAACID-Australia's sister organization, SAACID-Somalia, recently delivered more than 600 metric tons of food to the camps in the area, where the malnutrition¹³ rate for children is at a critical level.

He says he is appalled¹⁴ by the mayor's accusation¹⁵.

"SAACID-Australia finds Mohamed Dheere's statement completely baseless," Burns said. "We deplore¹⁶ his statement. SAAID will continue to support all IDPs that it can reach."

On Thursday, some 1,500 internally displaced people in the Elasha-Biyaha settlement in Afgoye staged a demonstration¹⁷, condemning¹⁸ Dheere's claim that they were al-Qaida-linked terrorists.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

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 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。

4 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 pacify   

vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒)；抚慰

参考例句：

• He tried to pacify the protesters with promises of reform.他试图以改革的承诺安抚抗议者。
• He tried to pacify his creditors by repaying part of the money.他为安抚债权人偿还了部分借款。

7 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

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 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

14 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

16 deplore   

vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾

参考例句：

• I deplore what has happened.我为所发生的事深感愤慨。
• There are many of us who deplore this lack of responsibility.我们中有许多人谴责这种不负责任的做法。

17 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

18 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》