BAGHDAD, 21 January 2005 — Just when the people of Baghdad thought things couldn’t get much worse, they did.

For the past five days, most of the city — particularly the western districts — has been without water.

Added to a lack of electricity — the national grid is off more than it’s on — a crumbling mobile phone network, endless lines to get fuel and a daily dose of bombs and mortars, it has made it next to impossible to even think about coming elections.

"This is everyone’s biggest problem," said Alaadin Saad, 32, a father of two who lives in the southwest district of Saidiya.

"We haven’t had water for nearly a week. We used up all our reserves and now I haven’t had a shower for three days."

There has been no explanation for the crisis, which has provoked such anger and frustration that one Iraqi called a news agency demanding that something be done.

Insurgents are suspected of attacking a water mains outside the city several days ago, cutting off supplies, but the US military had no immediate information on such an attack.

In the absence of hard information, rumour and speculation often run riot in Iraq.

Some Baghdadis believe the Iraqi government and US military have cut off the water on purpose to frustrate people and prompt them to vote in the January 30 election.

Others take the water shortage as yet another sign that the US occupation brought them nothing but problems.

"Nothing works — there’s no power, no water, no fuel, no phone service. It’s a disaster," said Namidh, a security guard who said his family had been without water for a week.

A spokesman for the public works ministry had no explanation for the crisis and referred callers to the mayor’s office. No one was reachable at Baghdad city hall as yesterday was the first day of Eid Al Adha.

The crisis has left many families unable to cook, wash or bathe and also caused illness, some say.

A police source said around 300 people were taken to hospital in west Baghdad this week with stomach problems or similar ailments and complaining of having been "poisoned".

Officials at Yarmouk hospital, one of Baghdad’s main clinics, said they had had no major increase in patients suffering from water-borne diseases like cholera, but other hospitals were not immediately reachable for comment.

A Health Ministry official also played down fears of a cholera outbreak but said disease could rise if the water crisis was not resolved soon. "There will be health problems if we don’t sort this out," he said.

In some areas there is absolutely no water, in others, a trickle for a few hours a day. The shortages have become the main talking point in a city of around five million people already beset by difficulties.