By
Adow Jubat
Five people were killed and scores of others
sustained injuries, after a passengers bus plying between Mandera – Nairobi route
was gun ambushed by heavily armed assailants on Friday morning.
Tawak Bus
The attackers of unknown number who were armed to
the teeth ambushed two buses, which were heading to Mandera from Nairobi at
area between Wargadud and Elwak at about 10.30 am a senior government official
has confirmed.
The Northeastern
regional commissioner Amb Mohamud Saleh said the assailants, who could be a
local militia according to preliminary investigations waved two buses which
were moving in a convoy to stop.
He said the first bus, Tawakal express defied to
stop and managed to speed off from the reach of the bandits forcing the criminals
to indiscriminately open fire at the second bus- Ecoach bus services.
“The attackers waylaid the buses at a road junction
and they attempted to stop the first bus, the driver defied to stop. They
started shooting at the second bus which was few minutes behind the first one. Five
people were killed at the scene”, He said.
The regional commissioner said scores of people were
also injured in the incident, after the bus veered off the road after the driver
lost control forcing the bus to land on road side ditch.
“We suspect the attack is an act of clan militia
operating within the area. Unless proven otherwise this is not the work al-Shabaab
or any foreigner bandits since the area where the incident occurred area is far
from the Somalia/Kenya border, where terror attacks usually happens”, Added the
regional boss.
Saleh said there is emerging tendency by the local
people to quickly attribute any criminal incidents to al-Shabaab so that to divert
attention of the security personnels always from the local criminals, who could
have hand in some of the banditry activities witnessed in Mandera County.
“We suspect this attack is could be the work of clan
bandits, local criminals or people hired to settle scores on a business rivalry
between the buses companies. The area where attack has happened is interior,
and the assailants are criminals who seemingly know the terrain adequately”, He
noted.
Ecoach Bus
“We are investigating many angles to this incident.
We know there is business rivalry between the two bus companies plying the
Mandera-Nairobi route. There is also an issue of clan militia marauding the
area where the attack has occurred”, Amb Saleh.
The regional commissioner said all exit and entry
points of the border has been sealed off to ensure the attackers will not have
a safe exit adding that a contingent of security personnels were deployed along
the Kenya/Somali border.
He said aerial surveillance were also been used to
ensure that the attackers are brought to book.
