By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, charged a month ago with desertion in a mysterious case in which he left his unit in Iraq only to turn up in Lebanon, has failed to return to his base in North Carolina, the Marine Corps said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Marines said that Hassoun "has been declared a deserter" after not returning on Tuesday to Camp Lejeune from authorized leave.
The statement said Hassoun had been required to return to the base by noon on Tuesday, but has not reported for duty. The statement said "his command officially declared him a deserter and issued authorization for civil authorities to apprehend Hassoun and return him to military control."
CNN reported that he had gone to Canada.
