Libya: Missing Uranium Recovered, Say Eastern Forces

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Facts

• Ten drums of uranium ore that had been reported missing in Libya were recovered on Thursday near the border with Chad, according to armed forces in the country's east. The International Atomic Energy Agency  (IAEA) says it is 'actively working to verify' the reports.¹
• The IAEA first reported on Wednesday that about 2.5 tons of natural uranium went missing from a Libyan site not controlled by the interim government, prompting nuclear safety concerns.²
• IAEA Director Rafael Grossi informed the organization's member states that the organization's inspectors found that ten barrels of natural uranium in the form of uranium ore concentrate were no longer present at the undisclosed location 'as previously declared.'³
• According to Grossi's confidential one-page statement, the discovery was made on Tuesday after inspections initially scheduled for last year were postponed due to the country's bleak security situation.⁴
• The nuclear watchdog expressed concern that the missing uranium could pose a radiological and 'nuclear security' risk and announced further steps to determine the circumstances of the uranium's removal and its 'current location.'⁵
• Under then-leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya in late 2003 abandoned its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons program and pledged to limit its ballistic missile stockpile to those with a range of up to 300 km (186 miles).⁶
• In 2009, the last enriched uranium was reportedly removed from Libya. What remained was so-called yellowcake uranium, of which the UN estimated in 2013 that 6.4K barrels were stockpiled in the town of Sabha in the country's lawless southwest.⁷

Sources: ¹BBC News (a), ²Reuters, ³CNN, ⁴France 24, ⁵Al Jazeera, ⁶BBC News (b) and ⁷Daily Mail.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by France 24. While the recovery of the missing uranium is a major relief, this incident is a reminder that the country's security situation must finally be rectified. The best way to achieve this would be to hold the overdue elections this year to unite a divided country. The various factions must embark on the path of democracy for the good of Libya, and the West can be counted on to support this process. Libyans have freed themselves from the Gaddafi dictatorship, and they deserve a democratic and peaceful nation.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Global village space. The deeper cause underlying the conditions in which uranium can simply disappear ultimately stems from NATO's 2011 military assault on the country with Africa's largest known oil reserves. Though Libyans previously enjoyed a comparatively high standard of living, as well as safety in their own country, the North African nation plunged into chaos after its 'liberation' and virtually turned into a failed state. It is the West that is to blame for the security risks resulting from Libya's fragmentation.