UN says 90 of its peacekeepers killed in 2013

United Nations: The UN peacekeeping chief said 90 of his colleagues have been killed in 2013, with 29 of them in "deliberate attacks." Herve Ladsous noted in particular the deaths of 14 peacekeepers in the bloody Darfur region of Sudan. He calls that "totally unacceptable."

Ladsous gave his end-of-year briefing to reporters on Friday.

He also repeated that his department is preparing for the possibility of contributing to the "stabilisation in Syria" if UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon requests it.

That will depend on the outcome of Geneva peace talks in January. The talks aim to end the fighting that activists say has killed over 120,000 people in three years.

Ladsous also is telling northern countries they are "very welcome" to contribute to peacekeeping as they disengage from the war in Afghanistan.