Dispute over special forces involved in private mission

The two children reportedly escaped from their father's apartment and sought refuge at the Norwegian Embassy in Rabat last July.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry say they regarded it as a "crisis situation" and allowed the children into the embassy. Three days later an embassy official drove the children to an agreed address where the children were turned over to a person representing the mother.

The children and their mother were then smuggled out of Morocco on a small sailing boat.

Defence Minister Grete Faremo confirms that two officers from the Norwegian Navy's special forces were involved in sailing the boat when the mother and children were brought out, but that the two were on vacation at the time.

However, Faremo says it is unacceptable for Defence personnel to participate in "such an operation", even on their time off.

The opposition in Parliament (Storting) have callled for a full investigation into the case.

The children's mother had for several years sought help from the embassy, and claims that Norwegian officials earlier had not met her appeals to help her ensure enforcement of a Norwegian court order which had granted her custody of the children.

There are aalso reports that embassy personnel and Norway's ambassador to Morocco had been threatened by the children's father.

(NRK/Aftenposten)

Rolleiv Solholm

Tuesday, 02 February 2010 10:12