Strike closes Oslo's main museums

The two main museums in the Norwegian capital Oslo, the Munch Museum and the National Gallery, closed to visitors on Thursday after security guards went on strike over pay.

The Munch museum, which holds the largest collection of works by Expressionist pioneer Edvard Munch including famed painting "The Scream", said it would be shut on Thursday and Friday.

The national gallery - which also has a version of "The Scream" by the Norwegian master who died in 1944 - has been closed since Tuesday.

"This is very sad, primarily for our visitors," Lise Mjoes, director of art collections for the Oslo municipality, told local television.

"To come to Oslo and not see Munch, if it is something that one has been wanting to do for a long time, that would be terribly sad," she added.

Nearly 2,500 security guards are on strike in Norway after pay negotiations failed, also leading to disruption at a dozen provincial airports.