Story highlights Kenyan who shielded Christians from Al-Shabaab attack dies during surgery

Salah Farah, a school teacher, explained his courageous action: "We are brothers"

Kenya (CNN) Kill us all or leave.

That's what Salah Farah told Al-Shabaab gunmen who ambushed a bus he was riding in the Kenyan county of northeast Mandera in late December. The gunmen said they were going to kill Christian passengers.

"They told us if you are a Muslim, we are safe," he then recalled to the BBC . But Farah and other Muslims on the bus stood up to the terrorists and risked their lives by shielding the Christians.

Farah was shot. Over the past several weeks, he has seemed in good spirits, talking to reporters and his family. But on Monday, during surgery, he died.

The school teacher's words of peace and brotherhood are being praised this week in international news coverage.

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