Rabat/Oslo - Diplomatic tension was brewing on Tuesday between Morocco and Norway as Oslo rejected accusations by Rabat that Norwegian diplomats had illegally taken the children of former Olympic champion Khalid Skah out of the country.

"We reject the claims," Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marte Lerberg Kopstad told the German Press Agency dpa.

"Norwegian authorities and Norwegian diplomats have not been involved in these two children's departure from Morocco," she added.

The Norwegian charge d'affaires on Monday also handed over a message from Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store that rejected claims of involvement.

A judicial inquiry has been launched in Morocco into the departure from the country of Tarik and Selma Skah, who left without the authorization of their father, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a communique issued Monday.

The children "disappeared" from the Norwegian ambassador's residence in circumstances which Norway has not clarified, despite Morocco requesting an explanation on July 24, the ministry said.

The Norwegian embassy, however, said on its website that the children had come to the embassy voluntarily, staying for three days, because their lives were in danger.

Norwegian media said the girl aged 16 and the boy aged 13 had dual nationality.

Their mother Anne Cecilie Hopstock left Morocco in 2007. The father, Khalid Skah, is an athlete who won the 10,000 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

The children's mother and her lawyer had said that the embassy had proposed to help the children leave Morocco, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said.

The Norwegian ambassador had also hurriedly left the country, and a Norwegian police liaison officer charged with immigration issues had been recalled home, the ministry complained.

Norway could not "downplay" the inappropriate behaviour of its diplomats whose testimonies were now needed for the judicial inquiry, the ministry said.

Diplomatic immunity did not free diplomats from respecting the laws of the country where they were accredited, the communique stressed.

The Norwegian embassy, however, said Store had discussed the matter with his Moroccan counterpart Tayeb Fassi Fihri in late July, underlining Norway's responsibility to protect its citizens.

Norway had worked for years to resolve the complicated child custody case, which had led to Skah threatening employees at the embassy, the website said, adding that Store had urged Morocco to ensure diplomats' safety.

The Norwegian ambassador to Morocco is in Norway, and "we have filed a complaint over the threats made by Khalid Skah," Lerberg Kopstad said.

"We view this seriously and have raised it with the Moroccan authorities, and we have ensured that they take it seriously," she explained.

Norway was "keen on maintaining good bilateral relations" with Morocco, Lerberg Kopstad said.(dpa)