The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) called on military campaigners in the Iraq war to give priority to children's safety, appealing to them to focus more on the humanitarian impact.

"We're very concerned about reports of deaths and injuries among children and women," said Carol Bellamy, UNICEF's executive director, in a written statement.

Describing the losses as tragic and unacceptable, she added: "But the truth is the world does not have a very clear picture of the humanitarian impact of the fighting."

"There is a disturbing lack of focus on the civilian population," she said.

UNICEF said the situation in the southern city of Basra, where intense ground fighting was raging in the city's outskirts on Tuesday, was "of particular concern".

The water supply has been interrupted in the city after electricity was knocked out, Bellamy underlined, warning that people were at risk of disease from unsafe water.

The UN agency is working to get water tankers into Basra, she added.

"I urge the parties to this conflict to make the safety of children a priority," Bellamy added.

UNICEF has currently more than 150 local staff in Iraq after the evacuation of UN international staff, though none of them are in Basra.AFP