The tactical move by US forces to skirt Iraqi cities en route to Baghdad has created a dangerous vacuum, with angry locals running out of essentials and armed bands reportedly seeking vengeance.

US commanders have made no secret of their desire to avoid getting bogged down in messy urban warfare in their bid to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. So they have steered clear of major metropolises in their push north.

But the maneuver has left residents of towns like Safwan, just over the border with Kuwait, seething with resentment with electricity cut, shops shut and supplies of food and medicine running out.

Townsfolk crowd menacingly around arriving cars groping for food or water. They also beg US-led forces to provide humanitarian help and protection against local vigilantes.

The mood has shifted sharply in the past two days. Whereas Iraqis here once gave an enthusiastic welcome to advancing allied troops, they now fear being left on their own once the Americans move on.

"There is no longer a police force here," said a doctor who identified himself only as Ali. "People are really agitated and there could be serious conflict." Ali said Saddam's security forces had burned houses and attacked several people in recent days. Looting has been reported and rumours abound of secret police drawing up lists of potential dissidents.

Cordiality towards correspondents and other foreigners has turned to hostility. An AFP photographer waiting in front of the local hospital had a gun waved in his face by an Iraqi hissing "go home." British military police evacuated around 60 journalists from the town Sunday after a warning that 10 to 15 armed fighters loyal to Saddam were planning an imminent attack on the media.

The group were believed armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and assault rifles, said one MP escorting the group, adding that their aim was "to kill the maximum number of journalists possible." Lieutenant General John Abizaid, deputy head of the US Central Command that is directing the four-day-old war from Qatar, rejected suggestions the region had descended into chaos but conceded it was plagued by "irregular actions." "We certainly are very mindful of the fact that over time, we will look for Iraqi police and other officials that are interested in working with us to ensure that we get stability as we continue the advance." Abizaid said cities like Basra, the southern port, were made up mostly of people who welcomed the arrival of US and British forces but also had some Saddam supporters offering resistance.

"I think all of us should understand that in these very large, urban areas, it will take a long time to ensure that various regime-support elements are brought under control," he told reporters Sunday.

"And I think that we have done quite well, actually, in all the areas that we've passed through. You also have to understand that we're not looking to go in and fight house-to-house in all of these areas either."   Source : Sapa-AFP