Turkey sent Monday two cargo planes of humanitarian aid to famine hit Somalia, Anatolia news agency reported.

Fifty tonnes of aid material are expected to assist some 1,500 families for one month, it said.

Ten tonnes of medicine and medical equipment were included in the aid, the agency quoted health minister Recep Akdag as saying.

The United Nations last month declared famine in two areas of southern Somalia, as the world slowly mobilised to help 12 million people battling hunger in the region's worst drought in 60 years.

Tens of thousands have died.

Parts of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Djibouti are also hit by drought.