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March 16, 2023 | 4:05 p.m
More than 2 tons of missing radioactive uranium have been found near a warehouse in southern Libya after its disappearance sparked nuclear safety concerns, according to military officials.
Khaled Mahjoub, a spokesman for the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), said in a statement Thursday that the 10 barrels had been recovered, although a video he shared showed workers counting 18 containers.
Some of the blue-painted kegs in the video appeared to show batch numbers.
However, the footage did not show the barrels being opened.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear regulatory agency, said in a confidential statement to member states seen by Portal that its inspectors during an inspection at an unspecified location in the war-torn country on Tuesday around 2, reported 5 tons of uranium missing.
According to the IAEA, the facility is located in an area not under the control of the government of national unity in Tripoli and requires “complex logistics” to reach it.
Over 2 tons of missing radioactive uranium were found near a warehouse in southern Libya. Rafael Mariano Grossi (above) is the Head of IAEA.CHRISTIAN BRUNA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Mahjoub said the site was a warehouse near the border with Chad that the IAEA last visited in 2020 and sealed with red wax.
The barrels were discovered approximately 3 miles from the storage facility.
He speculated that a group of Chadian Separatist fighters had raided the warehouse and stolen the barrels, hoping they might contain weapons or ammunition, but subsequently discarded them.
Ten barrels were found abandoned about 3 miles from the storage facility. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
The IAEA said it was aware of media reports that the uranium had been found and was working to verify them.
The UN agency had previously warned that the missing uranium could pose a nuclear security threat.
Although natural uranium ore cannot be immediately used to make a nuclear bomb, a group with expertise and the necessary equipment, including centrifuges, could refine each ton of the material into 12 pounds of weapons-grade uranium.
Commanded by warlord Khalifa Haftar, the LNA fought rival Western forces until 2020 before a ceasefire was declared, leaving the country divided.
Control of the country is shared between the internationally recognized government in the capital, Tripoli, headed by the head of the Presidential Council of the State of Libya, Mohamed al-Menfi, and the House of Representatives in the eastern city of Tobruk.
With mail wires
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