Stranded Kenyan Workers Demand Evacuation after Islamist Attack

(Reuters) – Scores of teachers and civil servants were stranded at a remote Kenyan airstrip on Thursday, demanding evacuation and protection five days after Islamist gunmen killed 28 non-Muslim bus passengers in the surrounding border region near Somalia.

Somalia’s al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack in the Mandera area, where gunmen commandeered the Nairobi-bound bus, then killed anyone who could not recite verses from the Koran.

Many people fled, and unions representing teachers and health workers in the area advised members to leave for their own safety.

More than 100 children and pregnant women were evacuated on Tuesday. But more than 100 people were still waiting at the airstrip, including state school teachers and others who had moved to the area to work in government posts.

“I have decided never to return to Mandera,” said 27-year-old teacher Cates Mugo, adding that she might leave by road as the chance of being flown out now seemed remote.

Around her, families laid out cloths on the red earth, saying they were afraid of being targeted in another attack.