Containers containing about 2.5 tons of natural uranium, reported as missing from a site in Libya by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have been found, a general of the armed forces of the country announced on Thursday. eastern Libyan camp.
General Khaled al-Mahjoub, commander of the communications directorate of the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces of eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, said on his Facebook page that the containers had been found "barely five kilometers" from the site where they were stored in the Sebha region in southern Libya.
He posted a video showing a man wearing a protective suit counting, in English, 18 blue-colored containers, or all of the uranium that was stored at the site.
"The situation is under control, the IAEA has been informed," General Mahjoub told AFP.
In his Facebook post, General Mahjoub claimed that after the containers were found missing during a visit by IAEA inspectors, "an armed LNA force found them just five km from the deposit in the direction of the Chadian border".
He estimated that the containers were stolen before being abandoned "by a Chadian faction, believing that they were weapons or ammunition".
Taking advantage of the chaos and porous borders, several Chadian and Sudanese factions have established their rear bases in southern Libya, neighboring their countries, to indulge in various trafficking.
The IAEA reported Wednesday the disappearance of about 2.5 tons of natural uranium from a site in Libya, according to a statement sent to AFP.
During a visit on Tuesday, UN inspectors "discovered that 10 containers with approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of uranium concentrate (UOC, also called "yellow cake") were not present where they had been declared by the authorities," Director General Rafael Grossi wrote in a report to member states.
The IAEA said it would conduct "additional" investigations to "clarify the circumstances of the disappearance of this nuclear material and its current location".
16/03/2023 18:46:53 - Benghazi (Libye) (AFP) © 2023 AFP
