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S/2018/243 18-04045 5/21 of humanitarian aid. Health actors are recording an average of between 25 and 30 blast-related civilian injuries and deaths per week. The number of child victims, especially boys, is increasing as more families return. Some 130 civilians have been killed and 658 injured in blasts since the city was retaken from ISIL in October 2017. Medical and other services remain limited there, with only one maternity hospital and a health clinic operating. The lack of clean water is another serious concern. Humanitarian agencies continue to emphasize that, owing to the high prevalence of landmines, booby traps and explosive remnants of war, it is not safe for civilians to return to the city. Owing to the conditions, humanitarian organizations have only a limited presence on the ground. 13. Government forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces have continued to clash with ISIL in southern rural Dayr al-Zawr Governorate, along the eastern bank of the Euphrates and the border with Iraq, reportedly resulting in civilian casualties and small-scale displacement. Explosive hazard contamination is also a threat there, reportedly resulting in the death of 26 people during the reporting period. An estimated 325,000 people remain in need of assistance in the governorate. Priority needs include health support and water and sanitation. In the city of Dayr al-Zawr, many streets remain inaccessible owing to accumulated rubble and the risk of explosive hazards. Reportedly, more than 60 per cent of the city is damaged and shelter limited, causing inflated rents. 14. The Ministry of Defence publicly reported that government forces and their allies had conducted military operations in Aleppo, Hama, Idlib and Rif Dimashq Governorates in February. 15. The combined joint task force known as Operation Inherent Resolve (United States-led coalition) issued a statement on 8 February in which it declared: Syrian pro-regime forces initiated an unprovoked attack against well-established Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters on 7 February. Coalition service members in an advise, assist, and accompany capacity were co-located with SDF partners during the attack eight kilometres east of the agreed-upon Euphrates River de-confliction line. In defense of Coalition and partner forces, the Coalition conducted strikes against attacking forces to repel the act of aggression against partners engaged in the Global Coalition's defeat-Daesh mission. The Coalition remains committed to focusing on the defeat-Daesh mission in the Middle Euphrates River Valley and asserts its non-negotiable right to act in self-defence. 16. The Department of Defense of the United States also publicly reported that, in February, the coalition had carried out 135 strikes against ISIL targets in Dayr al-Zawr and Hasakah Governorates, 129 of which near Albu Kamal, Dayr al-Zawr. Protection 17. Air and ground-based strikes continued to kill and injure civilians and to damage and destroy civilian infrastructure. Explosive weapons continued to be fired into populated areas, indiscriminately killing and injuring civilians, destroying and damaging vital infrastructure and leaving communities littered with hazards that killed and injured civilians and impeded humanitarian access. The use of improvised explosive devices in some areas added to the complexity of the explosive hazard threat. The many civilian casualties and the scale of civilian destruction remain a strong indication that violations of the fundamental rules of distinction, proportionality and precaution, and of the resulting prohibition on the launching o