11 August 2008 -- A helicopter belonging to the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was shot at earlier today in West Darfur.

The helicopter took off from El Geneina at around noon local time and the pilot heard shots being fired at the helicopter about 30 minutes after take-off, when the helicopter was over a location 90 kilometres north-east of El Geneina. The pilot aborted the mission and returned safely to El Geneina. There were no casualties reported and the helicopter is being examined to assess any damage. At the moment, it is not clear who was behind the shooting.

Also today, UNAMID’s senior leadership provided a briefing on its work at its headquarters in El Fasher to the visiting US Special Envoy for Sudan, Richard Williamson. The Deputy UN-AU Joint Special Representative, Henry Anyidoho, expressed his appreciation for the support that the US Government is extending to the Mission. He added that, despite limited resources and associated challenges, UNAMID is doing its utmost to implement its mandate and to improve the security situation on the ground.

The Mission also reports that the security situation in UNAMID’s area of responsibility remained relatively calm during the past few days.