Somalia's al-Shabab Islamists have denied lifting their 2009 ban on Western aid agencies and say UN reports of famine are "sheer propaganda".
The UN on Wednesday said that parts of Somalia were suffering a famine after the worst drought in 60 years.
A spokesman for al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaeda and controls much of the country, accused aid groups of being political.
But the UN insists famine exists and it will continue its aid efforts.
Most Western aid agencies quit Somalia in 2009 following al-Shabab's threats.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) was one of those banned.
It says it is planning to airlift food into the capital, Mogadishu, in the coming days to help the thousands of malnourished children who face starvation in the country.
Some 10 million people are said to need food aid across East Africa but Somalia is by far the worst affected country, as there is no national government to co-ordinate aid after two decades of fighting.
Thousands of people are fleeing areas under al-Shabab control to camps set up in areas of the capital controlled by the weak interim government, which is battling the Islamist insurgents.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14246764
Note: Update Record,22 July 2011 Last updated at 11:32 GMT