A United Nations-African Union helicopter has come under fire in the Darfur region of Sudan, the peacekeeping mission has said.
The rear of the aircraft and its radio system were damaged by gunshots but there were no casualties, spokesman Noureddine Mezni added.
A report in July argued that a shortage of helicopters and other equipment was hampering the mission's work.
The UN says 300,000 people have died as a result of the conflict in Darfur.
Critical importance
The incident was the first occasion that a helicopter belonging to the joint force, known as Unamid, has come under fire since it took over ICC to go after Sudanese president ...
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The aircraft was on a routine mission about 56 miles (90km) north-west of Geneina just after 1200 local time when the pilot heard shots.
All crew members and their one passenger made it back to their base unhurt, but Unamid described the incident as serious and said it would launch an investigation.
An international source based in west Darfur told the BBC that rebels were to blame, suggesting they had targeted the helicopter by mistake in the belief that it belonged to the army.
Earlier, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement claimed that it had shot at a government helicopter in west Darfur.
The BBC's Amber Henshaw in Khartoum said the latest attack underlines the complexity of the conflict, in which different rebel forces are confronting government troops across a region the size of France.
Previously, the report by the Save Darfur Coalition said a militia attack in July on a UN-AU convoy that left seven peacekeepers dead and 19 wounded had shown the critical importance of helicopters.
The troops were outmanned and outgunned, and because of the lack of aircraft no rescue or reinforcement operation could be mounted, the report argued.
Violence in the region began in 2003 when rebel groups complaining of discrimination against black Africans began attacking government targets.
The government mobilised what it called "self-defence militias" in response, but denies any links to the Janjaweed, accused of trying to "cleanse" black Africans from Darfur.
(BBC)
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