IAEA Calls 2.5 Tons Of Uranium Missing In Libya, Causes Radiological Risks And Nuclear Security Issues

IAEA illustration. (Twitter/@rafaelmgrossi)

JAKARTA - The UN nuclear watchdog inspector on Wednesday revealed that about 2.5 tonnes of natural uranium had disappeared from a site in Libya that was not under government control.

The findings are the result of an initially planned inspection last year that "must be postponed due to the security situation in the region" and was finally carried out on Tuesday, according to a secret statement from head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAAEA) Rafael Grossi.

IAEA inspectors " FOUND that 10 drums containing about 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC ( uranium ore concentrate) previously stated by (Libya)... were stored at that location apparently not at the site," the statement said.

The agency will carry out "further activities" to determine the state of the uranium transfer from that location, which has not been named and where it is now located, the statement added.

"The loss of knowledge about the current location of nuclear material could pose a radiological risk, as well as nuclear security concerns," the statement said, adding that to reach that location requires "complex logistics".

In 2003 Libya under the then leader Muammar Gaddafi left its nuclear weapons program, despite having acquired centrifuges that could enrich uranium as well as design information for the nuclear bomb, although it has made little progress in making bombs.

Libya has not experienced peace since the NATO-backed insurgency in 2011 which toppled Gaddafi. Since 2014, political control has been divided between rival eastern and western factions, with the last major battle ending in 2020.

It is known that Libya's interim government, which was formed in early 2021 through a UN-backed peace plan, should only last until the election scheduled for December that year, which has yet to be held, and its legitimacy is still being debated.