Kenyan Muslims shield Christians in Mandera bus attack

According to eyewitnesses, a group of Kenyan Muslims travelling on a bus ambushed by Islamist gunmen protected Christian passengers by refusing to be split into groups. They told the militants “to kill them together or leave them alone.”

At least two people were killed in the attack, near the north-eastern village of El Wak on the Somali border. The Somali based al-Shabab group says it carried out the attack. The bus was travelling from the capital Nairobi to the town of Mandera.

When al-Shabab killed 148 people in an attack on Garissa University College in April, the militants reportedly singled out Christians and shot them, while freeing many Muslims. Last year, a bus was attacked near Mandera by al-Shabab militants, who killed 28 non-Muslims traveling to Nairobi for the Christmas holidays.

Mandera governor, Ali Roba said: “The locals showed a sense of patriotism and belonging to each other. The militants decided to leave after the passengers’ show of unity.”