The pirates who seized a ship carrying military hardware off Somalia turned on each other on Tuesday as three were shot dead in a dispute over what to do with their hijacked cargo.

The outbreak of infighting aboard the Ukrainian vessel was seen by analysts as a reflection of the bloody factionalism ashore, which has fuelled piracy and kept Somalia a failed state. The recent upsurge in pirate attacks has recalled the world’s attention to the country’s woes, in particular frequent deadly clashes with insurgents that have left 8,000 dead and 1m displaced since the start of 2007.