Fighting continues to rage in Somalia where al-Shabab and Hizbul-Islam launched an offensive against government forces on May 7.

More than 300 civilians are believed to have been killed in the resulting fighting and in recent days, three high-profile government officials - the security minister, an MP and a senior police officer - have been killed.

As the world appears to look on with indifference, Inside Story asks: What can be done to stop the bloodshed, who is behind it and what is next for the war-torn country?

Presenter Kamahl Santamaria is joined by Zakaria Mahmoud Haj Abdi, the deputy chairman of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, Abdulkadir Abdirahman, a leading member of Somali Cause, a coalition of groups working to promote stability in Somalia, and Dominik Helling, a research associate at the Crisis States Research Centre at the London School of Economics.

This episode of Inside Story aired on Thursday, 18 June, 2009.