Rabat/Oslo - Diplomatic tension was brewing on Tuesday between Morocco and Norway after the Moroccan Foreign Ministry accused Norwegian diplomats of illegally taking the children of former Olympic champion Khalid Skah out of the country.

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 ministry said in a communique issued Monday.

The children "disappeared" from the Norwegian ambassadors 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.

The Norwegian authorities then lost track of the children and were not implicated in their departure from Morocco, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store was quoted as saying.

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.

The current head of the Norwegian diplomatic mission was called to the ministry to inform him about the latest development in the Skah affair, according to the communiqué.

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 ministry 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 Skar threatening employees at the embassy, the website said, urging the Moroccan authorities to ensure diplomats' security. (dpa)