Women gave hijabs to Christians as Muslim men confronted gunmen, witness says
Mr Salah Sadbow Farah, a deputy headteacher at the Mandera Township Primary School and the 18-year-old form four student Mr Abdirahman Adan were airlifted to Wilson Airport by Amref Flying doctors and taken to Kenyatta National Hospital on December 22, 2015 after they sustained gunshots in the bus attack by suspected Al-Shabaab terrorists. PHOTO | STELLA CHERONO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
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"We asked them to kill all of us or leave us alone. As we argued, they shot me and the boy. One man who also came out of the bus and tried to escape to the bush was shot," he said.
Mr Sabdow said the gunmen ambushed the bus at 7am when they were approaching Elwak.
The deputy headteacher added that as the women were sharing their hijabs the men came out of the bus and confronted the gunmen
The teacher and student who were shot and injured in the Mandera bus attack on Monday have arrived in Nairobi and have confirmed that they shielded non-Muslims during the encounter with the terrorists.
Mr Salah Sabdow Farah, a deputy headteacher at Mandera Township Primary School, and 18-year-old Abdirahman Adan, a form four student at Al Sadiq Secondary School, were airlifted to Wilson Airport by Amref Flying doctors and taken to Kenyatta National Hospital at 9pm on Tuesday.
Mr Sabdow said he was shot by the suspected Al-Shabaab militants when he confronted them as they tried to separate Muslims from Christians.
He was travelling from Nairobi where he had been studying for his degree at the Mount Kenya University.
Mr Sabdow said the gunmen ambushed the bus at 7am when they were approaching Elwak town.
"They shot at the bus and ordered the driver to stop. They then ordered everyone out of the vehicle and the women who were Muslims started removing their hijabs and lesos and handing them to the non-Muslims" he said
He added that as the women were sharing their hijabs the men came out of the bus and confronted the gunmen
"We asked them to kill all of us or leave us alone. As we argued, they shot me and the boy. One man who also came out of the bus and tried to escape to the bush was shot," he said.
Sabadow was shot in the hip bone. The bullet is still clogged in his abdomen. Abdirahman was shot four times. The two are set to undergo surgery at the KNH.
Mandera County KNUT Secretary Kulo Mohamed, TSC County Director, Jamal Ahmed, Mandera County KePsha Chairman, Mohamed Gaiya and the Mandera ODM Chairman Rashid Farah are among those who received Mr Sabdow at the Wilson Airport.
The leaders asked the President to strive to make Mandera and the entire northeastern safe from terrorists so as to develop the county.
