Aid agencies have warned that the coalition push into the heart of Basra will not guarantee the easier distribution of food and medical supplies in the city.
Will Slater, spokesman for the British Red Cross, said it was wrong to assumesupplies would reach the needy now that coalition forces were further intoBasra.
He said there were still difficulties in negotiating "a passage through thefront line" because aid workers did "not know what elements of the Iraqi armyremained."
He added: "We can't make the assumption that the flow of aid will be easiernow we are more into Basra.
"What governs it is the security situation and whether its safe for our staffto operate.
"It doesn't matter really if one side is in control or the area is indispute, it could still be dangerous."We have to assess the situation on a day by day basis."
A spokeswoman for Oxfam said its workers would not be entering the citybecause it was still considered "too dangerous".
She added: "Our security analysis is that it's still not safe enough for usto go in."There's a humanitarian imperative and we want to go in as soon as we can. Wehave all seen the chaotic delivery of aid over the last few weeks and that'ssomething we are concerned about."
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been working over thepast few weeks to ensure water reaches the more than one million people livingin Basra.
The supply dried up in the last week of March after fighting caused damage topower lines leading to water treatment plants.
Electricity generators were brought in by the ICRC, expatriates in the areaand the Kuwaiti Red Crescent, to alleviate the situation.
Mr Slater estimated that just over 60% of the population had access to arunning tap and the majority of people were getting the water they needed.He said: "We have four tankers that are supplying the three main hospitals inBasra and five tankers supplying to areas of Basra that don't have a tap.
"The priority is the distribution of safe water."The water is not great but we have done bacteriological tests and it is safeto drink.
"Cholera is a concern but we've not seen any outbreaks that we need to be tooworried about."
PA