Prague - Czech military police began Monday to evict Greenpeace activists from a site where the United States wants to install its missile-defence radar, the group and army officials said.

Soldiers removed four activists from the hilltop in the Brdy military zone of south-west of Prague and handed them to police, but two protesters remained ensconced in treetops, said Jiri Tutter, the group's director in the Czech Republic.

"The army has done nothing more than re-established order where the law was broken," Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told reporters.

The activists have held a sit-in on the hill for six weeks in protest at US plans to locate missile-shield bases in central Europe. Officials said they face a fine for trespassing on military premises.

Despite opinion polls showing more than six out of 10 Czechs opposed to the US facility, the Czech and US governments are close to a deal on locating the radar on Czech soil.

Any agreement would require approval by parliament where Topolanek so far lacks clear support for the project.

Washington is also negotiating to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland as part of the programme, but the talks are dragging on because of Polish demands for increased military aid.

Russia is opposed to deploying a missile shield in the former Soviet satellites that joined NATO and the European Union after the collapse of communism in Europe in 1989. (dpa)