In 2011 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was then Turkey’s prime minister, became the first non-African leader to visit Somalia in two decades.

Erdogan, 70, had launched an all-out personal campaign to win back Istanbul, the economic powerhouse where he was once mayor. 

Early results showed Turkey's opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), leading in Istanbul and Ankara in local elections.

NATO member Turkey has close relations with Somalia and is its leading economic partner, notably in the construction, education and health sectors, as...