Journalist Ali Ahmed Abdi, 26, was murdered by three gunmen on his way home in Galkayo, north-central Somalia on Saturday, according to Reporters Without Borders. He's the third Somali journalist killed since the start of 2012.
Also on Saturday, Reuters reports that the Islamist rebel group al Shabaab fought soldiers in Puntland, Somalia, resulting in nine people dead.
Here's a look at the latest in Somalia.
* Abdi was also a contributor to the Somali Online news website. He was known for being critical of attacks on fellow journalists.
* Also killed this year were Shabelle Media Network manager Hassan Osman Abdi on January 28 and Radio Somaliweyn manager Abukar Hassan Mohamoud, murdered on February 28. No one has been arrested in any of these murders.
* Following Abukar Hassan Mohamoud's murder, the African Union condemned the killings and noted that eight civilians had been murdered the day before, five of whom were children.
* In France, a Ministry of Foreign and European Spokesperson noted the murder during a press briefing and said that "those responsible for this crime must be identified and brought to justice."
* Despite the killings, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke before the Security Council to say that recent resolutions and meetings "present a rare opportunity to the Somali people and the international community to rapidly advance the peace process," according to a Monday press statement. Recent decisions have included expanding the role of the African Union Mission in Somalia and supporting the extension of the internationally-supported Transitional Federal Government's control over southern and central Somalia.
* The Transitional Federal Government hopes to enact a new constitution and hold elections before August 20, but has been hampered in its efforts by a lack of political strength outside of Mogadishu.
* Despite the opportunity for peace and improvements in delivering humanitarian assistance, the secretary-general warned that progress was "extremely fragile" and will likely continue to degrade in coming months. The next harvest will be in August.
* Al Shabaab has been battling Kenya, Ethiopia, and the African Union in attempting to gain control over the country. The group is backed by al Qaeda.
* The group initially attacked a checkpoint near Bosasso on Friday night and fighting carried on through Saturday.
* Bosasso lies on the northern coastal area of Puntland, on the Gulf of Aden. Puntland is a semi-autonomous region in Somalia, and is considered more stable than southern and central Somalia.
* The country's most stable region, Somaliland in the far north, is a separatist region that elects its own president. Somaliland remains unrecognized by the international community.
Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and an amateur Africanist, focusing his personal studies on human rights and political issues on the continent.
