Western aid agencies are delaying their move into southern Iraq following reports that they could face a hostile reception from the people.

Expectations that the residents of Iraq's 'liberated towns' would turn out to cheer and garland US and British troops have turned out to be hopelessly optimistic.

Judging from the reactions in Umm Qasr, half-an-hour's drive from Basra, or from towns like Zubayr, further to the north, Western visitors are more likely to be met by a hail of stones.

Some of this can be attributed to a mix of fear and confusion. Few believe that Saddam Hussein is on the verge of being defeated. Also, everyone remembers how the West looked the other way when Saddam loyalist put down the 1991 uprising, which was encouraged by the US.

Some Iraqis also argue that for all his faults, Saddam has used his power to keep order in a country riven by tribal and regional jealousies and feuds.

Kassem, a marine engineer at the Umm Qasr port, told rediff.com: "I'm not saying Saddam is a good man. He committed many mistakes. But Iraq is a difficult country to rule and it needs a strong person at the top."

So far, visiting British and US journalists have not been received well in the south.

On Saturday night, an angry crowd near Zubayr smashed the back window of a four-wheel drive belonging to reporters from London's Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

The journalists, who managed to escape any serious injury, were forced to retreat to Kuwait.

Some of the anger arises from the continuing shortage of clean drinking water, which used to come from Basra.

That supply was interrupted because of the war and the damage to water pipes.

British military engineers stepped in to provide an alternative source of water from Kuwait. But the Kuwaiti pipeline stops just across the border and there are simply not enough tankers to carry water to the urban centres.

Some giant tankers have been spotted carrying water to nearby farms. These could easily be requisitioned to serve the needs of the locals, but no one seems to be prepared to take the initiative.

For a restless population, this is further evidence that Western governments cannot be relied upon when it comes to matters of survival.

rediff.com Senior Editor Shyam Bhatia is the co-author of Saddam's Bomb, on Iraq's search for nuclear weapons.