VOA标准英语2010年-Violence Marks Somali Government's Yea

January 29 was supposed to have been a day of celebration. In the sprawling¹ presidential compound known as Villa² Somalia, preparations had been made to mark the one-year anniversary of the new transitional government with poetry readings and a military parade. 

But the country's most powerful Islamist insurgent³ group, al-Shabab, and an allied⁴ rebel group, Hizbul Islam, had something different in mind to mark the occasion.          

The attack on government troops and African Union peacekeepers began around two o'clock in the morning with a crash of mortars⁵ and automatic machine gun fire, which could be heard from the south end of Mogadishu to the north.  

The peacekeepers, who have a mandate⁶ to hit back if attacked, launched a counter-barrage, firing a combination of heavy artillery⁷, Katyusha rockets and tank rounds into the inky blackness that gave cover to insurgents⁸ but left residents inside homes helpless to avoid the rockets and shells raining down around them.

When the fighting ended hours later, local hospitals reported that more than a dozen civilians¹⁰ had been killed and another 35 wounded.   The government canceled the day's festivities.

It is a situation that has become all too familiar for residents in this embattled city.  A U.N.-mediated deal in 2008, which added hundreds of moderate Islamists into the ranks of the government and ended Ethiopia's two-year occupation of Somalia, has yet to translate into safety and security for civilians.

 

A Islamic fighter is seen through a hole caused by shrapnel in a wall, in Mogadishu, Somalia (File)

The Transitional Federal Government, or the TFG, continues to be violently opposed by Islamist insurgents, most notably¹¹ al-Shabab, which has proclaimed allegiance to al-Qaida.  Al-Shabab militants¹², who control most districts in the capital and key towns throughout southern Somalia, have imposed their austere¹³ version of Islam in areas they have seized, shocking Somalis into submission¹⁴ with such punishments as public beheadings and amputations of limbs.   

The only military force capable of keeping the government from being toppled is the 5,300 troops from Uganda and Burundi making up the African Union peacekeeping mission known as AMISOM. But since their arrival in Somalia in 2007, AMISOM troops, particularly from Uganda, have been severely¹⁵ criticized for retaliatory¹⁶ attacks, which have caused untold¹⁷ number of civilian⁹ casualties in Mogadishu.

Fartun Abdisalam Aden, who heads the Mogadishu-based human rights organization Elman Peace Center, says Somalis are no longer seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

"People in the beginning of this government had hope.  They were thinking, 'Things might get better," Aden said.  "It will change.'  Now, it is getting worse and nothing is working.  I think the international community made a mistake.  People are dying and people do not have hope anymore.  Whomever you talk to, they think, 'Every year it is getting worse.  What are we waiting [for] now?'  We do not know," she said.

Government officials insist it could improve security and public services immediately if they had direct access to more than $200 million the international donor¹⁸ community pledged last year to support the TFG and the African Union mission. 

First Deputy Prime Minister Abdurahman Aden Ibrahim "Ibbi" tells VOA most of the money that has been promised to the Somali government has been given to U.N. and U.S. government agencies for release to the government at their discretion¹⁹.  Ibbi says only a fraction of the pledged amount has been released so far.

"We are weak because the international community is not supporting this government the way it is supposed to," he said.  "All the money that was supposed to be given to the Somali people has been given to international organizations.  We have been defending ourselves for one year with no money.  Today, they are saying, 'We are training.' Still they are not giving us money!  We do not have any friends now, to be honest with you.  If they are our friends, let them give us something concrete," said Ibbi.

A respected civil society leader Abdullahi Mohamed Shirwa agrees that there has been inadequate²⁰ support for the TFG from the international community.   He says that is because the international community - which has tried 14 times in the past two decades to create a central government for Somalia without the participation²¹ of Somalis at the grassroots level - is itself divided over how best to guide and work with the new transitional government.

"They cannot create a consensus²² among themselves to support the Somali government or the Somali peace process.  Someone says, 'Go ahead.'  Others are saying, 'No, no.' And they are fighting among us - Ethiopia-Eritrea, African Union-Arab League, European-American, whatever.  They do not have a common policy toward Somalia," he said.

In 2008, when the United Nations spearheaded efforts to create a new transitional government composed of both TFG officials and members of a former Islamist opposition²³ faction²⁴, the aim was to establish a government that had the political and religious legitimacy²⁵ to bring about a national reconciliation²⁶ and end nearly two decades of civil war.

 

Personnel Armored Vehicles stand in front of Villa Somalia in Mogadishu (2006 file photo)

Abdullahi Mohamed Shirwa says what the United Nations actually created was a government of bickering²⁷ factions²⁸ that could barely manage issues inside Villa Somalia, let alone the rest of the country.
 
"We talk many times to the international community.  We told them Somalis cannot maintain 40 ministers and 550 parliament members.  It is very huge.  It cannot work," he stressed.  "They are a lot of different groups.  They are fighting amongst themselves day and night.  The problem is the international community always engage in peace process and establish Somali governments, which have no legitimacy in the local communities.  And after they establish it, they sit in Nairobi and say, 'Let us see how they do.' And they are not supporting it.  They are saying, 'They [the government] are not transparent²⁹.  They are not accountable to anybody.'  Why didn't they think before the establishment [of the government]?" asked Shirwa.

The increasing threat of an al-Shabab takeover, continuing violence, and the inability of the Transitional Federal Government to act decisively are driving Somalis out of Mogadishu and the rest of the country at an alarming rate.  In parts of central and southern Somalia, the crisis is also fueling movements among groups aligned³⁰ with the TFG to create autonomous³¹ administrations that can provide public services and offer some degree of stability and protection from al-Shabab.

 

1 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

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 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。

4 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。

5 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

6 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

7 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。

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 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 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。

11 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

12 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。

13 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

14 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

15 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

16 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

17 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

18 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

19 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

20 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

21 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

22 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

23 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。

24 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。

25 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

26 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

27 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

28 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

29 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

30 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

31 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。