An 11-person team including representatives from the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN children's fund UNICEF, and the UN Office for the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNOHCI), were assessing humanitarian needs in the southern port city of Umm Qasr, the WFP's emergency coordinator for Iraq Russell Ulrey told AFP.

UN staff had carried out a security assessment in the area on Tuesday and Friday's trip was "the first visit by the humanitarian side," he said.

The final UN expatriate staff withdrew from Iraq on March 17 on the orders of Secretary General Kofi Annan on security grounds, although Iraqi staff remained.

Umm Qasr is the only entry point for direct port deliveries into Iraq, and had been handling vessels carrying in food and other vital necessities under the UN-administered oil-for-food programme before the start of the conflict on March 20.

Ulrey said Friday's one-day visit would "allow humanitarian staff members of the UN to begin to assess what's required".

"We are assessing logistics, including the port, the hospital, water supplies and the market place," said Ulrey.

UNICEF spokesman Marc Vergara said that a three-man team featuring aid experts from Canada, Sudan and Algeria from its Baghdad office would be talking to doctors about hospital conditions, medical supplies and sanitation in Umm Qasr.

"At the moment they are just looking at the needs. They will be talking to people and will come back later today."

The WFP is understood to have lined up some 400,000 tonnes of food to be brought into Iraq from neighbouring countries including Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Iran.

Ulrey said that food distributions made in the lead-up to the outbreak of the war meant that there should be sufficient food to last the Iraqi people until July.

Saddam has said that Iraqis have enough food to last them for six months.

"We are hoping that the food situation is not too critical," said Urley, adding that the WFP wanted to resume full operations "fairly soon".

The UN, which last week launched a worldwide appeal for 2.2 billion dollars for post-war Iraq, said Thursday that it has already received pledges totaling 1.2 billion.

UN Vice-Secretary General Louise Frechette gave the figure in a closed meeting of the UN Security Council, without naming the donor countries.

The UN had appealed for the 2.2 billion dollars in emergency aid, including 1.3 billion for food alone.

Frechette, who oversees all UN humanitarian aid programs in Iraq, said in a statement that the situation in Iraq was "not critical at present," but that "there still remains the danger" that it will become so.

SPACE.WIRE