How 55 Passengers Survived after Being Stopped by Al Shabaab in Wajir

It was a scare for at least 55 passengers after they were stopped by al-Shabaab militants on their way to Mandera from Wajir County.  

The Thursday incident happened around 4 am after the militants reportedly fired in the air forcing the driver of the bus to stop.

Passengers who narrated the ordeal said they were aboard the Almukaran bus when they were attacked in the Bore area about six kilometres from the Tarbaj trading centre.

After stopping the bus, the militants are said to have ordered the passengers to alight one by one.

During the exercise, the group of terrorists was reportedly searching for non-locals so that they can ostensibly pounce on them. 

However, the group was spared after none of the 55 was found to be non-local.

After being convinced that non-locals were not on the bus, the terrorists allowed the driver of the bus to proceed with the journey.

"Nothing was stolen from the passengers and bus crew. The driver stopped at the Tarbaj police station where they reported the matter before proceeding" a source aware of the development told Nairobi Leo.

The officers from the station embarked on a brief operation in the area which is near the Kenya-Somalia border in a bid to hunt for the terrorists.

This is not the first incident to happen in the area.

On Tuesday, June 14, al-Shabaab militants attacked a passenger bus and sprayed it with bullets.

This is after the driver of the vehicle defied orders to stop. Luckily, none were injured during the incident.