UN atomic agency chief says Libya was in early stages of nuclear programme

After visiting Libya to start verifying its clandestine activities, the head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today said that Tripoli’s nuclear programme was “at an early stage of development.”

Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, who arrived in Libya on Saturday with a team of technical experts, has begun a detailed process of verification of the North African country’s nuclear record.

Mr. ElBaradei’s trip comes on the heels of Libya’s recent renunciation of all endeavours to develop weapons of mass destruction and its pledge to fulfil all obligations under international disarmament treaties.

Seeking the Agency’s help, last week a Libyan envoy in Vienna informed the IAEA that his country had been engaged for more than a decade in the development of a uranium enrichment capability but added that that no industrial-scale facility had been built, nor any enriched uranium produced.