The International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday shipped a large amount of food into drought-stricken areas of Somalia under the control of the Islamist al-Shabaab militia dpa reported
Al-Shabaab, which has links to al-Qaeda, has banned most aid groups from working in the areas it controls.
The Red Cross said it was handing out food to 162,000 people in southern and central Somalia, in the first "large-scale" distribution in those parts of the country this year.
"It is very difficult to get there," ICRC spokeswoman Anna Schaaf told the German Press Agency dpa, adding that her group had first obtained security guarantees from the various parties to the conflict.
The aid drop includes 3,000 tonnes of food - such as rice, beans and cooking oil - to last the recipients about one month.
According to the UN, nearly 12 million people in the Horn of Africa could require aid, including 3.7 million Somalis, or about a third of the country.
UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said in New York that tens of thousands had died in the region and hundreds of thousands were facing famine. Conflict in the region was hindering relief efforts, she said.