AS SAYLIYA CAMP (Qatar), March 30: British authorities said on Sunday two of their soldiers were sent home from Kuwait on the eve of war in Iraq, but declined to comment on a report that they could face a court martial.

A military spokesman denied that the two had been flown back to Britain for refusing to fight, saying the incident took place before the 11-day-old US-led invasion of Iraq began.

The Sunday Times said a private and an air technician from 16 Air Assault Brigade were sent home to their barracks in Colchester, southern England.

The two men told their commanding officers that they would not fight in a war involving deaths of innocent civilians, the newspaper said. —Reuters