Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 16 April 2015

Airstrikes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition that hit a dairy factory in Yemen on March 31 killed at least 31 civilians and wounded another 11, Human Rights Watch said today. The coalition's attack may have violated the laws of war, and a thorough investigation is needed. Azerbaijan's capital Baku is gearing up to host the first European Games this summer. But the games will be played in a country "with a terrible human rights record — one that is growing only worse". Evidence indicates that Sudan dropped cluster bombs on civilian areas of the Nuba Mountains in February and March 2015, Human Rights Watch said today. Cluster munitions are "horrendous, indiscriminate weapons" and Sudan should immediately stop using them. Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo should immediately release seven peaceful activists who have been wrongfully detained. Security forces in the eastern city of Goma beat and otherwise mistreated demonstrators protesting government repression, including with water torture. European states are under renewed pressure to mount proper search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean after a surge in the numbers of people try to cross to Europe. 400 people are believed to have drowned when a boat capsized off Libya this week. There's no doubt that EU inaction is costing lives at sea. Bahrain will host the Grand Prix again this weekend. But its rulers are presiding over a "chilling crackdown" and supposed efforts at reform are pure fiction, says Amnesty International. Is a hospital a place to get medical treatment or a prison for those in debt? It seems some doctors are confused.