A group of Muslims thwarted a terrorist
attack planned against Christians in
Northern Kenya, saving nearly two dozen
believers from death, a persecution
watchdog has revealed.
According to International Christian
Concern , the Islamic extremist group Al-
Shabaab had planned to storm a
construction site for a new hospital in
Kutulo, Kenya and kill any Christian
workers they found there.
When some of the local Muslim population
heard of the impending attack, they rushed
to the area to tell all Christians to
evacuate. They then waited for the gunmen
to arrive and confronted them.
While the Muslims were unable to prevent
the gunmen from opening fire on the
construction site, more than 20 Christians
were nevertheless able to flee the site and
escape without injuries.
“They confronted the gunmen who
proceeded to the site and failed to get what
they wanted. [The attackers] opened fire
but no one was injured before they
escaped,” north-eastern regional
commissioner Mohamed Birik told media,
according to Premier UK .
Kutulo, located in Mandera County, Kenya,
is a highly dangerous place for Christians
to live and work due to the high
concentration of Somalis and Muslims that
live in the region. ICC notes that Christians
are an “easy target” for terrorist groups like
al-Shabaab, as they are easily identifiable.
In light of this reality, ICC’s Regional
Manager for Africa, Nathan Johnson, told
The Christian Post the Muslim’s decision to
protect Christians is of “immense
importance.”
“First, it shows that those of different faiths
can come together and protect each other,”
he said. “You will find that, most often,
those who are most able to defend people
against extremist groups, are those of the
same faith as the extremist group. When
locals know what is happening or receive
warning when attacks like this are coming,
it takes brave men like these to stop them.”
The story also provides the chance for
groups like ICC to “laud the heroism of
those of other faiths,” Johnson continued.
“If we want to be able to call out those who
abuse power and persecute others, then we
must also be able to applaud those who
protect others as well,” he said. “These
men, at risk to their own lives, stopped an
attack that would have left dozens dead or
injured. It took true bravery to do this.”
The July 21 attempted attack mirrors a
2016 incident in which a group of Kenyan
Muslims traveling on a bus ambushed by
Al-Shabaab gunmen protected Christian
passengers by refusing to be split into
groups.
The terrorists killed two people and
wounded four others in the attack before
ordering the Muslim passengers separate
themselves from the Christians, but the
Muslims on board refused to comply.
“They told us if you are a Muslim, we are
safe,” one passenger recalled to the BBC.
“We asked them to kill all of us or leave us
alone.”
Al-Shabaab, which is based in Somalia but
continues to carry out attacks in
neighboring Kenya, remains one of Africa’s
deadliest terror groups.
In April 2015, the terrorists killed close to
150 students during an ambush attack at
Garissa University College, where the
militants separated Muslims from
Christians before executing the latter.
In August 2017, the terrorists killed another
four Christian men in Kenya’s Lamu
County, beheading three and burning alive
another.
Kenya ranks 40th on Open Door USA’s
World Watch List of countries where it is
most difficult be a Christian, with Islamic
oppression cited as the primary source of
persecution.
Johnson told CP that while the lives of
Christians were spared in the most recent
terrorist attack, it does “not mean the work
there is done.”
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