About 2.5 tons of natural uranium have disappeared in Libya, announced the UN nuclear agency, AFP reported.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, told the organization's member states that inspectors on Tuesday found that 10 barrels containing uranium ore concentrate "were not available as previously announced" at the site in Libya

The IAEA will conduct further activities "to clarify the circumstances surrounding the transfer of the nuclear material and its current location," the statement said, without providing further details about the site.

In 2003, Libya gave up a program to develop nuclear weapons during the long rule of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The North African country has been mired in political crisis since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011, with multiple militias forming opposing alliances backed by foreign powers.

It remains divided between a nominally interim government in the capital Tripoli in the west and another in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

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