In addition, 20 babies under one year old have died in Al-Zubayr, a city of 200,000 people, since the start of the war to topple Saddam Hussein a month ago, said Dr Shaie al-Sukeini.

"Most of the cases we are dealing with now are of gastroenteritis because of the shortage of drinkable water," he told AFP.

Another medic at the clinic, run by the Red Crescent society, said most of the children were being treated as outpatients as parents were unwilling or could not afford to admit them.

"We are getting 200 cases of children under five each day with diarrhoea and vomiting," the medic said.

Southern Iraq has been hit by a lack of clean water following the breakdown of a key water treatment plant. Doctors in nearby Basra have also reported a major outbreak of diarrhoea.

SPACE.WIRE