The Somali government has condemned the murder of a British journalist in the capital, Mogadishu, saying it will not deter its plans to relocate to the city.

A spokesman for President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed told the Associated Press the shooting death of Kate Peyton was a cowardly act and will not scare the new Somali government or the international community.

Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi told the French News Agency that he was saddened by the murder, which he described as a "savage act."

Ms. Peyton, a journalist for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), was gunned down outside her hotel Wednesday.

She had just arrived in Somali to report on plans by Somalia's new government to relocate, scheduled for February 21.