"To my knowledge they are the first representatives of any European NGO that have managed to get aid through (to Baghdad)," Nikitas Kanakis of MDM Greece told AFP.

The two doctors, a generalist and an anaesthetist, crossed into Iraq from Jordan without seeking authorisation from US-British forces.

"It's the Greek method. The fewer questions one asks the less likely one is to get refusals," Kanakis said.

The Greek doctors have started work at the paediatric hospital in Baghdad to which they brought 20 tons of medicine and food. They joined another three Greek medics working there on behalf of the small Greek NGO "Doctors of the heart" who arrived on Sunday.

Kanakis said MDM Greece was preparing another two missions with 40 tons of aid each. The first plans to reach the southern port of Basra from Iran. The second will make its way to Iraq through Syria, Kanakis said.

SPACE.WIRE