Muslims in Kenya protected Christians from an attack by Somalian Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab.
Two people were reported killed in the attack.
Gunmen boarded a bus in the north east of Kenya travelling from Nairobi to Mandera. Muslim passengers told the gunmen “to kill them together or leave them alone” according to a local governor.
This is credited by reports with causing confusion among the attackers.
The arrival of a lorry reportedly caused a panic amid the militants, enabling those on the bus to escape, according to an eyewitness.
“As the attackers started separating passengers according to their religions, we heard the sound of an oncoming lorry” survivor Abdirashid Adan told Kenya’s Daily Nation. “They all ran back into the bush thinking it was police. After realizing it was not police, they stopped the lorry as we dashed back into the bus and sped off.”
Another eyewitness said the militants gave up once the passengers refused to separate.
“We even gave some non-Muslims our religious attire to wear in the bus so that they would not be identified easily. We stuck together tightly,” Abdi Mohamud Abdi told Reuters.
“The militants threatened to shoot us but we still refused and protected our brothers and sisters. Finally they gave up and left but warned that they would be back.
