The UN nuclear agency said on Wednesday that approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium had gone missing from a site in Libya.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi told the organisation's member states that inspectors on Tuesday found that 10 drums containing uranium ore concentrate "were not present as previously declared" at the location in Libya.
The IAEA will conduct further activities "to clarify the circumstances of the removal of the nuclear material and its current location", it said in a statement, without providing further details on the site.
Libya in 2003 abandoned a programme to develop nuclear weapons under its long-ruling former dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
The North African country has been mired in a political crisis since Kadhafi's fall in 2011, with a myriad of militias forming opposing alliances backed by foreign powers.
It remains split between a nominally interim government in the capital Tripoli in the west, and another in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
India Relaxes Travel Ban On Libya, Urges To Avoid "Non-Essential Travel" UN Nuclear Watchdog Resolution Calls On Iran To Step Up Its Cooperation Iran's Enriched Uranium Stock 30 Times More Than 2015 Accord Limit: UN Watchdog 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing Rahul Gandhi's Seat At Red Fort Triggers Fresh Congress Attack On BJP "Pivotal Moment": Key Doctor Body Resumes Strike 2 Days After Calling It Off Rahul Gandhi's Seat At Red Fort Triggers Fresh Congress Attack On BJP Monkeypox Virus Killed 548 People In This Nation Since Start Of 2024 Tiger Attacks 5 After Escaping From Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.