Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN watchdog, have discovered that about 2.5 tons of natural uranium has disappeared from a Libyan deposit that is not under the control of the interim government.
IAEA inspectors “determined that 10 barrels containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of uranium ore concentrates were not in the location where they were supposed to be stored according to the Libyan government’s claims”.
The announcement emphasizes that the Agency will carry out further activities to determine the circumstances of the disappearance of uranium.
“The lack of information on the current location of nuclear material can pose a radiological risk as well as a nuclear safety concern”according to a statement seen by Reuters.
In 2003, under the then leadership of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya gave up its nuclear weapons program, and since Gaddafi was overthrown in a NATO-backed rebellion in 2011, this country has been exposed to continuous conflicts.
Since 2014, political control has been divided between rival eastern and western factions, with the last major conflict ending in 2020.
Libya’s interim government, established in early 2021 through a UN-backed peace plan, was supposed to last only until elections scheduled for December of that year, but since they have not yet taken place, its legitimacy is disputed.
(Srna)