VOA标准英语2009年-Al-Shabab Militants in Somalia Behead 7 in

Al-Shabab militants¹ in the south-central Somali town of Baidoa have beheaded seven people in what is believed to the largest mass execution carried out in Somalia by the al-Qaida-linked group since 2006.
　
Armed Al-Shabaab fighters patrol Bakara Market in Mogadishu, Somalia, 29 Jun 2009

According to relatives of the victims, the charges against the seven Somalis ranged from being Christians² to spying for the Transitional Federal Government. They say none of the people were tried before the executions were carried out on Friday.

The executions have shocked the people of Baidoa, which was once the base of Somalia's transitional parliament. The town fell to al-Shabab insurgents³ in January, following the pull-out of Ethiopian troops from Somalia.

Al-Shabab follows the ultra-conservative Wahabi tenet of Islam and its fighters have imposed strict Islamic laws in areas they control. They have forced women to cover their faces, segregated⁴ men and women in public places, and have banned music and all forms of entertainment.

They have also punished thieves by cutting off limbs and have stoned women accused of adultery. Beheadings have been relatively⁵ rare, but their numbers have been increasing. Last month, al-Shabab beheaded three people in the same region.

On Friday, the U.N. High Commissioner⁶ for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said carrying out such punishments without due process violated Somali and international laws and could be considered as war crimes.

Al-Shabab and an allied⁷ opposition⁸ group called Hisbul Islam already control large areas of southern Somalia and parts of the capital Mogadishu. In a bid to topple the U.N.-backed government, the insurgents launched an attack on government forces in early May. Two months of fighting in Mogadishu has killed hundreds of people and uprooted⁹ more than 200,000 others from their homes.

The Somali government says it needs international help to ensure the government does not collapse¹⁰. Earlier this week, Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke told local reporters that al-Shabab is a transnational jihadist group, determined¹¹ to wipe Somalia off the map.

Mr. Sharmarke says al-Shabab is not fighting to establish a government for the Somali people, but is trying to replace the Somali flag with the flag of extremism.

The al-Shabab-led insurgency¹² has attracted hundreds of foreign fighters to Somalia in recent months. Many of them have been seen fighting alongside al-Shabab in Mogadishu streets. Al-Shabab's ranks are also believed to be growing from new recruits trained at various camps set up by al-Shabab in southern Somalia.

Western intelligence officials believe al-Shabab is now a proxy¹³ army for the al-Qaida terrorist organization and pose a serious threat to the security of the region and to the Western world.

The United States recently acknowledged sending weapons to Somalia and has pledged more military assistance to the Somali government, but Washington says it will not send troops.

1 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。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 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

4 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

11 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。

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 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。