TWO Canadian women have left for Baghdad, the latest recruits for an army of human shields intent on stopping conflict.

Irene Vandas, 32, a Vancouver nurse, and Jennifer Ziemann, 30, are members of a Canadian anti-war group called Voices in the Wilderness who intend to use their presence to discourage a US bombing campaign.

Four Canadians are already in Iraq as human shields, working in hospitals, along with about 40 other Western volunteers. A dozen more Canadians are expected to join them before Christmas.

The latest recruits boarded a flight that left on Friday for Amman, from where they plan to drive into Iraq this week. “It will be a powerful experience,” Ms Vandas said before she left. “I’m not scared.” The pair plan to live with Iraqi families and stay until Christmas.

The Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa said that the Canadian Government could not forbid anyone from going to Iraq, although the country was on a government list for tourists to avoid.

The Canadian Government has declined to endorse a war until the weapons inspectors have reported back and the UN Security Council has given the US its stamp of approval to attack Iraq.

The group sending the volunteers has set up a website, www.iraqpeaceteam.org, complaining of what it says is the scarcity of news coverage about the anti-war movement, as a nationwide anti-war demonstration is planned in the US. Hundreds of groups plan to come together for a day of civil disobedience.

The events in towns and cities across the US have been planned for tomorrow, International Human Rights Day. It is also the day that Jimmy Carter, the former US President and a critic of war with Iraq, will receive his Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in part for his stance against President Bush’s confrontation with Saddam Hussein. Domestic US opposition to war has so far been limited, dwarfed by the often violent demonstrations of the Vietnam era.

Protesters are, however, promising a large turnout, particularly in Washington and other big cities, from a range of interest groups, including churches, unions and veterans groups.

The Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches, which represent 115 million Americans between them, have been increasingly vocal in their opposition to war.

Republican strategists are concerned at the anti-war feeling in blue-collar workplaces and organised labour. John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, one of the biggest unions in the country with 13 million members, and once courted by President Bush, has come out against the war.

Explore World News

• World Agenda

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• Fish and chip shops ‘selling cobbler as cod’
• T in the Park festival at Kinross
• Body Watch