Christians travelling on buses for Christmas holiday close to the border with Somalia have recently become targets of the Somalian militant group, al-Shabaab.
According to Christians in the region, travelling has become a risky endeavour, as the militants have seized buses on remote roads. Locals in the mostly Muslim communities in the area have been accused of aiding the attacks, some of which have been fatal.
Kenyans are bracing for further attacks by al-Shabaab as the United States carries out plans to withdraw its troops from So-malia, which broke off diplo-matic relations with Kenya, say-ing Kenya was meddling in its elections.
In response to the attacks, Christian and Muslim leaders have stepped up interfaith dialogue in hopes of reining in the bus attacks and other threats to the border region’s small Christian community.
“We continue to pray and talk. The interfaith dialogue has brought a great change in this region,” Nicholas Mutua, a Catholic priest in Garissa, told Religion News Service. “The buses are moving. All is fine, but we have to be on alert. The militants are very unpredictable.”