States will be leaving Syria "very soon". President Emmanuel Macron held a meeting with representatives of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria and plans to send soldiers to SDF-held areas at the Euphrates river. 30 March Some U.S. commanders interviewed by NBC News warned that recent firings and distracting domestic political tumult within the Trump administration could jeopardize the Special Forces mission against ISIL in Syria. One British and one American servicemen were killed by an IED explosion in Manbij along with five other soldiers being injured. April 2018 4 April A summit on achieving a lasting ceasefire in Syria is held in Ankara, Turkey by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Ankara summit is particularly significant in that Russia and Iran support the Assad government and Turkey's president has supported the Free Syrian Army. 7 April At least 41 people were reportedly killed in a chemical attack in Douma. 14 April About 100 buses evacuated the last batch of rebels and civilians from Douma, following which Russian and Syrian government forces took complete control of Douma ending the four years long Siege of Eastern Ghouta. The United States, France, and the United Kingdom carried out a series of military strikes against the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad. The SAA declared eastern Ghouta to be fully liberated after the last batch of Jaysh al-Islam rebel fighters evacuated Douma. Syrian forces promptly began mine-clearing operations in the city. 19 April The SAA and allied Palestinian militias launch an offensive to dislodge ISIL from their pocket in southern Damascus. 22 April As a part of an evacuation deal, rebels in East Qalamoun surrendered their weapons to the SAA in exchange for safe evacuation to rebel-held northern Syria, dissolving the rebel pocket of resistance there. The government flag was raised in Jayrud two days later as the last batch of rebels evacuated, signifying government control in the former rebel enclave. References Timelines of the Syrian civil war 2018 in Syria Conflicts in 2018