OTTAWA - THE first woman soldier to desert the US military for refusing to re-deploy to Iraq has been ordered deported, along with her husband and children, a war deserters support group said on Wednesday.
'Kimberly Rivera, along with her husband and three young children, have been told that they must leave Canada by Jan 27 or face removal to the United States,' War Resisters Support Campaign, a group supporting US military who oppose the war in Iraq, said on its website.
Officials were not immediately available to confirm the order.
Rivera served in Iraq in 2006, but refused to return when she received fresh deployment orders. In 2007, she and her family fled to Canada.
Canada's parliament passed a motion supporting US war resisters in June 2008, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government has continued to deport them.
Some 200 American deserters are believed to live in Canada, many clandestinely. Several have unsuccessfully claimed refugee status.
The first deserter to be deported last year, Robin Long, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. -- AFP
