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S/2018/484 2/21 18-08050 II. Major developments Box 1 Key points: April 2018 1. The reporting period witnessed a significant escalation in hostilities in parts of the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular in eastern Ghutah in Rif Dimashq in early April, and in Yarmouk and surrounding areas of southern Damascus city later in the month. Non-State armed opposition groups continued artillery shelling on areas in Damascus city, resulting in deaths, injuries and damage to civilian infrastructure. On 13 April, France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America carried out air strikes on military targets inside the Syrian Arab Republic that were reported to be part of the Government’s chemical weapons capacity. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic disputed the reports. The fact-finding mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons arrived in Damascus on 14 April and visited sites in Duma on 21 and 25 April to gather facts in connection with allegations of chemical weapons use on 7 April. 2. By the end of the reporting period, 158,000 people were reported to have left the previously government-besieged enclave of eastern Ghutah, moving either to sites for internally displaced persons in other parts of Rif Dimashq Governorate or, through evacuation agreements, to Aleppo and Idlib Governorates. The United Nations is not a party to these agreements and it has not been involved in evacuations. 3. In the north-western part of the country, the humanitarian response to the needs of an estimated 137,000 people displaced to the Tall Rif‘at area of Aleppo Governorate due to military operations in Afrin district, and to Nubl, Zahra’, Fafin and surrounding villages, continued. The lack of freedom of movement of people displaced from Afrin remained a major concern. Access from within the country to Afrin district itself remained cut off, but the United Nations delivered cross-border assistance to the area during the reporting period. 4. In Idlib Governorate, fighting between government forces and non-State armed opposition groups, as well as among non-State armed opposition groups, continued to be reported. The arrival of tens of thousands of newly displaced people following evacuation arrangements in eastern Ghutah and eastern Qalamun further stretched humanitarian response capacities and placed additional pressure on host communities in both Idlib and Aleppo Governorates. 5. According to reports from local observers, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees estimated that up to 6,000 Palestine refugees had fled the fighting in Yarmouk camp in the last week of April. Displaced Palestine refugees endured a dangerous and life-threatening journey through the Urubah checkpoint to seek shelter in safer areas in Yalda and Babila. 6. An inter-agency needs assessment mission to Raqqah city on 1 April confirmed extensive humanitarian needs amongst the estimated 100,000 returnees. The mission also confirmed high levels of explosive hazard contamination, including unexploded ordnances, landmines and improvised explosive devices, which continued to pose a significant risk to civilians and to humanitarian workers, as well as limited availability of basic services and widespread destruction. 7. The second Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region was held on 24 and 25 April. Participants reaffirmed the importance of an inclusive, comprehensive and genuine political solution in accordance with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015) and the Geneva communiqué, noting that the humanitarian and resilience needs of people inside the Syrian Arab Republic and i