肯尼亚武装扫射巴士 穆斯林舍身保护基督徒

AS IT IS 2015-12-23 Kenyan Muslims Protect Christians² from Terrorist Attack 肯尼亚武装扫射巴士 穆斯林舍身保护基督徒

Muslims risked their lives to protect Christians against militant³ gunmen on a bus in Kenya on Monday.

The gunmen boarded a crowded bus in Mandera and demanded that Muslim passengers leave the bus. That would have left the Christian¹ travelers behind.  

But the Muslim passengers refused. Some gave Christian women passengers their hijabs, or head coverings, CNN reported. They helped others hide behind bags.

Two people were killed in the attack. But more would have died if the Muslim passengers had obeyed the militants⁴’ order and left the Christian passengers behind on the bus.

CNN quoted passenger Abdqafar Teno saying: “They told them (the militants) ‘If you want to kill us, then kill us. There are no Christians here.’”

BBC reported that some Muslim passengers told the attackers “to kill them together or leave them alone.”

Authorities said the gunmen left the bus after the passengers refused to separate based on religion.

Some passengers warned that police were following the bus, Kenya’s Standard newspaper reported. But that was not true. The police car assigned to protect the bus had broken down, Kenyan officials said.

One hundred passengers, mostly women, were on the bus at the time of the attack, according to Kenyan officials.

Kenyan officials praised the courage of the passengers.

“We are all Kenyans, we are not separated by religion,” said Joseph Nkaissery, Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary.

Terrorism has been a major problem in the area.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack. It has tried to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state. Al-Shabab has launched attacks in Kenya after Kenyan forces went to Somalia to fight the militants.

Last April, al-Shabab militants killed 148 people in an attack on Garissa University College. In that attack, the militants killed Christians, while sparing many Muslims. The college is expected to reopen in January.

In 2014, a bus was attacked near Mandera by al-Shabab militants. Twenty eight non-Muslims were killed in that attack.

These terrorist attacks and others have led 2,000 foreign teachers and many non-Muslim health workers to leave the area, according to BBC. The area where Monday’s attack took place is near the border with Somalia, al-Shabab’s home base.

BBC said the passengers who refused to tell their religions showed courage. But they also might have acted out of frustration⁵, BBC said.

While the terrorist attacks have targeted non-Muslims, many Muslims have been hurt by the departure of foreign teachers and health workers, BBC said.

According to government officials, the bus targeted in Monday’s attack was traveling from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to Mandera. Mandera is near the border with Somalia and Ethiopia.

The buses generally travel with a police escort because of the threat of terrorist attacks.

But the police car assigned to protect the bus broke down, according to Nkaissery, Kenya’s Interior Cabinet secretary.

He said that the bus driver continued on the trip without police protection.

Words in This Story

assign – v. to give someone a particular job or duty

fundamentalist – n. a person who strictly⁶ and literally⁷ follows a set of rules and laws especially about religion

sparing – v. keeping from harm

courage – n. the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous

frustration – n. a feeling of anger or annoyance⁸ caused by being unable to do something

departure – n. the act of leaving a place especially to start a journey

generally – adv. in a way that is not detailed or specific

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

6 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。