The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency said 10 containers containing 2.5 tons of natural uranium had disappeared from a site in Libya.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday reported the disappearance of about 2.5 tons of natural uranium from a site in Libya, according to a statement shared with AFP.
During a Tuesday visit, inspectors from the UN body “found that 10 containers containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of uranium concentrate (“yellow cake”) were not present where declared by the authorities.” Chief Executive Rafael Grossi wrote in a report to the member states.
The IAEA specifies that it will carry out “additional” verifications to “clarify the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of this nuclear material and its current location”. No details are given on the website in question.
tensions in the country
Libya abandoned its nuclear weapons development program in 2003 under the aegis of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Since its fall in 2011 after 42 years of dictatorship, the country has been in a major political crisis, with rival powers in East and West, countless militias, mercenaries scattered across the country against a background of foreign interference.
Two governments are vying for power, one based in Tripoli (west) and recognized by the UN, the other backed by eastern Libyan strongman Marshal Khalifa Haftar.