Ill-fated bus was being comandeered to Somalia

Mandera, Kenya: Heavy rains pounding Mandera County saved the bus in which 28 people who were killed yesterday morning by Al Shabab militants from being driven to Somalia.

Unknown number of attackers commandeered the bus as it was about to enter Arabia town, which is between Mandera town and Elwak.

During the attack, the militants then drove three kilometres off the main road towards the Somali border. The border is roughly 20 kilometres off the Mandera-Wajir road. They got stuck in a marshy part of the road and were lost for choice.

“The bus passed here around 4.30am as usual. After some time, we heard gunshots in the distance, It went on for some time then died off,” said Abdi Ahmed, a resident.

Villagers said they could not venture out for fear of attack. They said in the last three months, attacks coming from Somalia side have persisted and they no longer sleep in their houses.

“Once the sun sets, the whole of this villages slithers into the bush. We are tired. We cannot sleep in our homes because they attack us so often. This is life here,” said Abdi Abdillahi, a villager of Umar Jilau where the attack happened.

Abdi Mohammed Issack is the only uniformed Kenya Police Reservist in Umar Jilau The Standard on Sunday came across. He was among the five officers who arrived at the scene in the morning.

“From the look of it, I can say only Mother Nature saved the people in that bus. We followed the bus tracks in the morning for three kilometres and stumbled on the worst. They had already committed the heinous act; slaughtering some of the passengers,” said Issack.

He said passengers who escaped unhurt told them the attackers went for Christians alone and spared Muslims.

The whole area where the incident took place is called Umar Jilau. We spoke with two eye witnesses, both police reservists who were first on the scene.

In the villages spread along the main road, residents remained guarded and approached our crew with suspicion. When they opened up, they said they were weary of attacks from across the border.

“There has been no let up from their side in the last three months. Business has gone down since we cannot congregate after dusk. We have no security here,” women who did not want to be identified told us.

The bus together with the dead and the living was driven back to Mandera town around 11 o’clock in the morning under police escort.

Along the main road, The Standard On Sunday crew encountered many lorries making the usual trips and a convoy of saloon cars under escort near El Wak. Near Elwak, The Standard on Sunday team encountered Kenya Defence Forces planes flying low but fast from the Somalia side. Two planes of the same kind took off in Wajir around 1 pm headed to Somalia side.

Two eye witnesses said the bus was not shot at. They said the passengers told them the attackers fled towards the Somalia side. They did not take anything with them, according to the police reservists.

Between Arbia and Mandera, there is no police station. A few kilometers from the scene is an abandoned military base. The locals have taken advantage of the facility like embankments and huts.

A few weeks ago, attackers took over one of the villages where Umar Jilau chief resides and sprayed his house with bullets. We met the chief

Briefly and he directed us to the scene. “Even the chief, with his instruments of power, sleeps in the bush with the rest of us. Here there is no respite for anyone,” said Abdi Abdillahi.

He points to the uniformed reservist Abdi Mohammed Issack: “Hata hawa nakimbia na sisi na hii bunduki yake. (Even he takes off with us to the bush with his gun). They are only about five here and the attackers usually number around 20,” he said.

The United States embassy in Nairobi was among those that condemned the attack. “This atrocity exemplifies the danger terrorists pose to all civilized societies.  It is important that we remain united, engage all communities, and continue to work together to end violent extremism.  The United States stands with Kenya in the effort to defeat terrorism,” read as statement from the US embassy sent to newsrooms.

The British Government also condemned the latest “appalling” terrorist attack in Kenya and pledged to continue its support in the fight against Al Shabab terrorists.

Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said in a statement released in London yesterday. “I strongly condemn the attack that took place in Mandera county, Kenya, today killing 28 people. I offer my condolences to the families and loved one of those who died.”

He said there was no place for such senseless attacks of violence “in our societies”.

“The UK stands by the Kenyan government in its fight against terrorism and in its efforts to bring those responsible for this barbaric act to justice,” he said.

East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Cabinet Secreary Phylis Kandie also condemned the attack. The spate terror of attacks have severely dented the tourism sector in the country.

Last evening, Deputy President William Ruto was holed up in security meetings with Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku, Principal Secretary Monica Juma, Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo and senior Kenya Defence Forces officials.

-Additional reporting by Shamlal Puri from London