2.5 million tons of natural uranium have disappeared in Libya, in a region that is not controlled by the country's government, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a UN body.

The atomic watchdog reported its discovery to the organization's member states on Wednesday, in a statement seen by Reuters.

IAEA inspectors "found that approximately 2.5 million tons of uranium had disappeared," the note reads.

According to the organization, there was a record of this material being stored on the site.

In the one-page document, the IAEA assures that it will take the necessary steps to find the missing material and understand how it came to be stored at the site in question.

This discovery is the result of an on-site investigation by UN atomic energy inspectors, which was postponed because the safety requirements were not met at the time.

In 2003, Libya, still under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi, renounced its nuclear weapons program. The country is going through a period of political turmoil, awaiting elections to replace the UN-backed interim government that took office in 2021. The vote should have taken place in December of that year.