US Oslo embassy briefly evacuated

OSLO, June 9: The U S embassy in the Norwegian capital Oslo was briefly evacuated for a second time in just over two months due to a scare over a ''suspicious package'', which bomb experts found to be harmless, police said.

Security worries have led U S officials to seek a new site for the Oslo embassy outside the city centre, and plans call for a new building to be constructed in a suburb against protests by residents fearful that it could become a target for terrorists.

''It has been called off,'' police spokeswoman Soelvi Glendrange said of the evacuation. ''It was nothing dangerous.'' Norwegian national broadcaster NRK yesterday reported that the package contained computer chips.

At the end of March, an evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Oslo was called off after a suspect item turned out to be a radio left outside the building.

Police were alerted shortly before (1430 HRS IST) and the building was emptied. But the evacuation lasted only about an hour until police bomb experts found the packet harmless.

Streets around the building were closed to traffic during the scare.

Reuters