The United Nations is willing to pull together a standby force of 15,000 troops for rapid deployment to conflict zones, the UN peacekeeping chief said on Thursday.

Herve Ladsous did not name the countries that will take part in the new reserve force.

"The goal we are pursuing is that, by the end of the year, we would have the capacity of 15,000 people ready for deployment within a very short period," he told reporters.

The standby force will be fully trained and equipped for peacekeeping missions, which is expected to reduce deployment time by several months.

More than 100,000 soldiers and police serve in the UN's 16 peacekeeping missions worldwide, the bulk of them provided by a small group of countries. They include Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Rwanda.

Source : MENA