In Kenya, Muslims And Christians Come Together During Terrorist Attack On Bus

Reports indicate the attackers’ attempt to separate Christians and Muslims failed when Muslims aboard the bus wrapped themselves around Christians colleagues daring the attackers to kill or spare them all.

A GROUP of Kenyan Muslims likely saved the lives of Christian passengers by refusing to reveal who among them were Christians, as Somali militants attacked the bus they were on.

Muslims helped dress non-Muslims passengers in Islamic garb, to prevent extremists from identifying them for slaughter on a bus in northern Kenya, witnesses said. It would not come as a surprise if a church in this country would invite these Kenyan Muslims to tell their congregation why they would not let Christians die. “We need to live as brothers and sisters with a common goal”.

Mr Owino said that in addition to the two deaths, four people were wounded.

The Somalia-based al-Shabab group later confirmed the attack. Then, the attackers also ordered non-Muslim passengers off the bus and proceeded to shoot them at close range, execution style.

The group with links to al-Qaida also claims northeastern Kenya to be a part of Somalia.

When militants ambushed a bus on Monday, things did not go as planned.

However, those Muslim passengers refused.

They were traveling in the Kenyan-Somali border when their bus was stopped by masked men, who wanted to split them into Christians and Muslims.

Consequently, two people were killed and five others injured in the twin attacks involving a passenger bus, Makkah bus, and lorry at Dabacity town of Mandera county.

One of the survivors, Abdirashid Adan, told the Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation, “We were forced to stop after they shot at our bus”.

Al-Shabab separated non-Muslims from Muslims on a bus on November 22, 2014, and killed 28 non-Muslims.

Kenya’s long north-eastern border with Somalia is widely considered a security weak spot.

“We have reported this to the government but no action has been taken even as the militants continue to terrorise locals”, he said. Kenya Police spokesman Charles Owino said buses from Mandera are given police escorts, but the bus that was attacked had bypassed a police roadblock and was therefore unable to receive the escort.

Factors include poor co-ordination between security services, and a culture of corruption that allows anyone prepared to pay a bribe to pass unchallenged.