Up to 11,000 British soldiers have deserted the Army fearing they could be deployed in violence-racked Iraq amid a steady rise in the number of soldiers going Absent Without Leave (AWOL) in the occupied country, British Ministry of Defense figures show.
"This represents a continuous and possibly worsening problem," Liam Fox, the shadow defense secretary, told The Daily Telegraph on Monday, June 11.
Figures released by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) under the Freedom of Information Act contradict government public insistence that desertion has been declining, the paper said.
The figures show that more than 11,000 soldiers deserted the army since the start of the Iraq invasion in 2003.
And there is a steady rise in desertions. In 2007, the number of British soldiers who remain AWOL stood at 283, up from 279 in 2006, 157 for 2005 and 135 from 2004.
"It is clear that support mechanisms are not functioning properly and if this represents a lack of resources then it must be addressed immediately by the government," said Fox.
The MoD, however, said most of the soldiers going AWOL reported domestic circumstances rather than a desire to avoid serving in violence-racked Iraq.
"Anecdotal evidence suggests that most AWOL is caused by domestic circumstances rather than wishing to avoid military service," said a spokesman.
There were suggestions that soldiers were going AWOL after tours in Iraq because the Army does not take their mental problems seriously.
One of the soldiers who fled his regiment in Iraq to begin a new life with his girlfriend killed himself in front of her and her two children last month.
A US Army survey found earlier this month increasing rates of mental health problems for troops on extended or multiple deployments in Iraq.
It showed that 20% of soldiers and 15% of marines suffered from acute depression, anxiety or stress.
