Libyan Rebels Retake Ajdabiya as Unrest Continues Across Mid

Libyan rebels retook the strategic crossroads town of Ajdabiya which they lost just over a week ago, as airstrikes by coalition¹ warplanes pound forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Unrest also continues in Syria and Yemen, following protests Friday.
Libyan rebels chanted and fired their automatic rifles into the air after capturing the strategic town of Ajdabiya, which controls key roadways into eastern Libya. The victory marks a serious setback² for pro-government forces which had taken the town from the rebels just a week ago.
Coalition warplanes earlier had bombed Gadhafi's military targets in Ajdabiya, destroying several tanks. A rebel spokesman said African mercenaries were killed in the fighting. Al-Arabiya TV showed several dozen African mercenaries, captured by the rebels.
Fighting also continued in the western Libyan town of Misrata, close to Tripoli. Witnesses inside the town told Al-Jazeera TV that pro-Gadhafi forces continued to pound the town with field artillery³, while storming houses in search of rebel fighters. The TV also claimed that Mr. Gadhafi's forces were preventing aid ships from resupplying the town by sea.
A Libyan government spokesman reiterated⁴ claims that coalition warplanes were killing⁵ civilians⁶. Rebel leaders in Benghazi said the claims were unfounded.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Saturday that Libya's air defenses had been undone⁷ and that responsibility for the Libyan operation was being transferred from the United States to its NATO allies, who are enforcing the U.N. mandated⁸ no-fly zone over Libya and the arms embargo⁹ at sea.
Jordan
AP
Jordanian protesters line up after pro-government supporters pelted¹⁰ them with stones, injuring six people during a protest at the camp in central Amman, March, 25, 2011
Elsewhere in the Middle East, anti-government protests continued in Yemen, Syria and Jordan. Security forces intervened to disperse¹¹ protesters in the Jordanian capital Amman Friday, causing a number of casualties. Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Bakhit accused Islamists in Syria and Egypt of provoking the violence. He argued that security forces had no choice but to intervene.
He says that rival protesters exchanged insults and threw rocks at each other forcing the government to deploy¹² security forces to prevent the situation from getting out of control.
Syria
In nearby Syria, hundreds of protesters turned out in the town of Sanamein, near the southern city of Diraa, Saturday to bury six people killed in violence a day earlier. Syria's highest Muslim religious leader, Mufti Ahmed Badr el Din¹³ Hassoun complained that Islamic preachers in the region were working to create sectarian strife¹⁴ in Syria.
He says that [violence] in Diraa, Sanamein and Latakia Friday were provoked by outside forces as reports will soon show. The Syrian people, he insists, are smarter than these preachers of strife who are calling on them to kill each other along sectarian lines.
Yemen
Meanwhile in Yemen, Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi stated Saturday that embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is negotiating the terms of his resignation with opposition¹⁵ leaders. Saudi Arabia is reported to be playing a key role in mediating¹⁶. Tens of thousands of opposition protesters turned out across the country Friday to demand Mr. Saleh's resignation.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

3 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。

4 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

5 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。

6 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。

7 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

8 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

9 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

10 pelted   

（连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮

参考例句：

• The children pelted him with snowballs. 孩子们向他投掷雪球。
• The rain pelted down. 天下着大雨。

11 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

12 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

13 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

14 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

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 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。